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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22974256">More Than a Prophecy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecauseBraime/pseuds/BecauseBraime'>BecauseBraime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>More Than [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Brienne of Tarth, BAMF Daenerys Targaryen, F/M, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, The Prince That Was Promised</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:20:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>28,088</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22974256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecauseBraime/pseuds/BecauseBraime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 3 of the More Than series. The Night King and his army march south after destroying the eastern section of the wall. All of Westeros will need to unite to face the threat and the three remaining Targaryens will need to come together and play their roles in the war to come.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>More Than [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633171</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Word from the North</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaime paced back and forth in front of the gates to Evenfall Hall. The sky was overcast and threatened to downpour at any moment; a seemingly permanent state of affairs in the Stormlands of late. A mere days after Jon’s letter had arrived, Jaime had received another letter from Tyrion indicating that he and Daenerys would be on their way to Tarth within the week to discuss next steps. Preemptively, Jaime sent word to the Rock of the need to begin preparations for war. On Tarth, Brienne wrote the other houses of the Stormlands as Daenerys had named her Warden of the Stormlands. Despite naming Gendry the Lord of Storm’s End, she understood that the vassals would not follow him. Tarth itself was deep into preparations as Jaime looked from the skies to the village and port below.  Jaime could faintly make out the outline of men loading ships with supplies.</p><p>In the distance, Jaime could see riders approaching. Roughly six Lannister soldiers lead by Bronn made their way up the winding path to the castle.  The sound of a cooing baby stole Jaime’s attention and calmed his pacing. Turning to see his wife with a babe in each arm, Jaime couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Alys had helped fashion a sling in which Brienne could better support the newborns in absence of two sturdy hands.</p><p>“You’re going to wear a hole in the lawn with all you pacing.” As Brienne approached, Jaime reached to take hold of little Selwyn who was awake and the source of cooing while little Catelyn slept comfortably against Brienne, tucked into the sling with Brienne’s right arm cradled under her. Pulling the baby boy into his arms, Jaime ran his good hand through the boy’s short, golden curls. Bright green eyes met his matching set as a chubby little hand reached for his face. There had been no doubt from anyone that little Selwyn was all Jaime; right down to the constant babbling. The only shared trait with Brienne was Selwyn’s pale skin; ripe for freckling with years of playing in the sun in the boy’s future.</p><p>Little Catelyn on the other hand was much more Brienne. She had her mother’s sapphire eyes, full lips, and blonde tufts of hair. She was also the calmer of the two babies. Despite the lack of sleep the twins caused, Catelyn was easier to calm, the better sleeper, and quieter when awake. Catelyn did have Jaime’s nose and complexion despite otherwise being a mini Brienne in the making.</p><p>As Jaime nuzzled the boy’s cheek, the mounted party of Lannister men and Bronn entered the gates of Evenfall. Hopping down from his horse, Bronn strode arrogantly towards Jaime and Brienne, hand gripping at his sword belt. “My greetin’ party. I arrive to a couple of babes and left the village to the sight of one suckin’ at ‘er mother’s teet after I finished the same not an hour earlier.”</p><p>Jaime observed Brienne’s nose crinkle in disgust at the sellsword’s crass words. Despite his best effort, Jaime couldn’t hide the mirth spreading across his face and in his eyes. Jaime turned to face Bronn as little Selwyn lost grip of Jaime’s nose and caught his chin. “How are preparations in the village?”</p><p>Bronn sucked in a breath and cast a glance back towards the direction of the village below, a skeptical look on his face. “The smiths are busy. Got wagons of that black shit ya had shipped from Dragonstone. Ya sure about this? Seems a lot of work for some boy up north’s little fantasy.” Jaime forced his face to remain neutral, but he shared Bronn’s concern. The entire situation seemed contrived. The product of too much time on the wall with nothing to do but drink and stare at a blanket of white snow below.</p><p>Shrugging his shoulders, Jaime sighed and looked between Brienne and Bronn. “Snow seems the honest sort. Just like dear old Ned. Even if it isn’t an army of dead things, something is marching on Winterfell and I made an oath to provide aid.”</p><p>As if summoning such a creature straight from the Seven Hells, the distinct sound of a dragon’s cry echoed through the sky above Tarth. The thick coating of clouds blocked the view, but the dark shadowing spilling across a string of clouds gave away the dragon’s location. Within moments, the beast dipped below the cloud cover and made a circle over the castle before touching down near the training grounds. Several household staff in the area scattered while yelling ‘Zaldrizes!’.  It had taken some time for Jaime to acclimate to the random smattering of Valyrian spoken throughout the day on Tarth, but he quickly picked up several of the phrases. In this case, Jaime learned quickly that ‘zaldrizes’ was Valyrian for ‘dragon’. Tarth preferred to use Valyrian for any of the more ancient or mythical occurrences… or to utter a string of obscenities as if it was somehow more polite.</p><p>Walking towards the dragon, Jaime watched as Daenerys and Tyrion stepped down from the beast’s back. Tyrion locked eyes with Jaime and a beaming smile spread across his face. “Brother! Where are they? My favorite Lannisters.” Jaime and Brienne gave a bow towards Daenerys who had also locked eyes on the babes; a soft, small smile on her lips. Looking towards Brienne, Daenerys’ lips turned up and a spark hit her violet eyes. “Sister. How do you all fare with the little ones?”</p><p>Jaime didn’t need to look at Brienne to notice her discomfort. She had never truly acclimated to the truth of her lineage but took comfort in knowing Daenerys seemed more interested in their well-being than ridding herself of any potential competition for the throne she sat upon; even if that competition wanted nothing to do with ruling anything other than her own household.</p><p>“A bit tired your Grace, but everyone is well. How are things in the capital?” Brienne and Jaime quickly found both babes being removed from their arms by Daenerys and Tyrion. Tyrion took little Selwyn and Daenerys lifted little Catelyn from the sling.</p><p>“Please Brienne, call me Daenerys or Dany. We’re family after all. That makes this little one my niece as much as Tyrion can call her the same.” Tyrion was occupied with baby Selwyn who was cooing and playfully grabbing a fistful of his beard.  Laughing at the babe, Tyrion looked between Jaime and Selwyn. “He looks more a clone of you with every visit. Poor boy.”</p><p>Jaime feigned offense and returned his gaze to Selwyn. “Do you hear that my boy? Jealousy becomes your uncle.” Tyrion snorted and reluctantly handed the boy back to Jaime. “As much as I would love to stand here trading insults with you all day brother, we have news from the north.”</p><p>Jaime knew that look on Tyrion’s face. He had witnessed it many times over the past year and it reflected a call to war. Ushering Daenerys and Tyrion inside, Jaime lead their small group to the solar where household staff quickly brought in refreshments. Daenerys continued holding little Catelyn while Selwyn squirmed in Jaime’s arms; ever discontent and aching for mischief.</p><p>Daenerys looked up from little Catelyn towards Jaime and Brienne. “I flew north on Drogon to take appraisal of the Wall. I saw it… the mass of dead marching south. Jon… or I suppose Aegon… does not lie. By my estimate, there are roughly one hundred thousand in their ranks.” Jaime felt his chest tighten at her words and he cast a panicked glance towards Brienne. <em>I need to keep them safe from whatever this is.</em></p><p>Jaime looked back to Daenerys. “So what now? I’ve sent word to the West to ready the men for war. The Stormlands have all answered the call and will be ready to leave within the week.”</p><p>Tyrion spoke next and looked between the couple. “In speaking with Jon… Aegon… whatever, three things can kill the creatures. Dragon glass which you are aware of, valyrian steel, and fire. The shipment of dragon glass that went north before the march on King’s Landing is being forged into weapons for every capable man, woman, and youth to wield. I trust you’ve done the same here in the Stormlands with your shipment.” Jaime and Brienne nodded at Tyrion before the younger Lannister continued. “We will convene at Winterfell and discuss battle strategy. We have already sent Daenerys’ forces north from King’s Landing. They should arrive in just under a moon’s turn. According to Jon, the dead march on land only and cannot pass by water. Hopefully their progress will be slow.”</p><p>Jaime nodded and spoke of the West. “The West will soon depart and will reach Winterfell just before the forces from King’s Landing. The Stormlands will sail for White Harbor and make the rest of the journey by land. They will arrive around the same time as the West. I’m not certain about waging war in an open field such as Winterfell though. Wouldn’t it make more sense to meet this army of dead men at a castle better prepared to withstand a siege? Perhaps White Harbor itself?”</p><p>Daenerys looked to Jaime and locked eyes with him. Truth be told, her violet eyes still unnerved Jaime. They reminded him too much of Aerys, but he kept reminding himself that there were decent Targaryens in this world. His wife was proof enough of that. Jon Snow was more Stark than Targaryen to Jaime, but the young wolf showed no signs of madness either.</p><p>“That is why we are here. I need you to lead our combined forces in this war. I understand from your brother that you are one of the best if not the best military mind in Westeros. My generals lack knowledge of the land and will hold no influence over the Westerosi.”</p><p>Jaime inhaled sharply and looked towards Brienne before turning back to Daenerys. He could see the concern etched on Brienne’s face, but she only nodded encouragingly. “Very well. I’ll lead the forces. I’ll leave with the Stormlands forces within the week. Brienne can receive anyone incapable of fighting here on Tarth. We should send word to the North to have them evacuate young children, babes, elderly, handicapped, and anyone else who can’t fight.”</p><p>“Tarth will receive them, but I will not be here to do so. I’m going with you.” Jaime’s head snapped to see raw determination and strength in Brienne’s eyes as she uttered the words. This was going to be a fight and one he was not prepared to lose.</p><p>“You are not in condition to fight! You have one hand we have two newborn babes!”</p><p>Brienne flinched at his words and spat back. “And you have one hand, yet you are to command the armies. You said yourself just the other day how far my lefthanded fighting has come. I’m ready for this! I will not sit idly on Tarth while everyone else risks their life in this war. The wet nurse is here and we can find another. I hope to convince Sansa to evacuate and manage the people here. Mayhap she will help watch the babes in my stead.”</p><p>Jaime could feel his heartrate quicken. “Sansa is not their mother. You are! If I don’t survive this, I need to know that you and the children are safe!”</p><p>Daenerys’ voice cut through the tension between Jaime and Brienne. “Actually Ser Jaime, we will need Brienne in this fight. We spoke with Bran and if we are to win this war, Brienne is to play a crucial role that we cannot do without.”</p><p>
  <em>So this is it. My payback for crippling the boy. I run the risk of losing the most important person in my life next to the twins because of his silly visions.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Past Meets the Present</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bran reveals what he knows. Brienne considers how to proceed.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaime and Brienne sat alongside Daenerys, Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Tyrion in the great hall at Winterfell. Bran’s eyes looked distant and unattached, but his tone brokered no argument.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but you mean to tell us that giant wights and giant ice spiders brought down a wall of ice that has been standing for thousands of years? And that an army of one hundred thousand dead just walked through the fallen ice atop dead horses, dead bears, and said ice spiders?” Jaime’s tone was incredulous and Brienne placed a steadying hand on his arm as a silent plea for him to not argue with the boy.</p><p>Bran looked to the one-handed knight and a small smile tugged at his lips. “I don’t need you to believe me Ser Jaime. You’ll see for yourself. You’ll watch as your wife meets them head on. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll do then. <em>The things you do for love</em>.”</p><p>Brienne felt Jaime stiffen under her hand and watched as his face paled. “So what do we do? How can we defeat them?” Daenerys’ voice cut through the momentary silence. Bran turned back to Daenerys and his eyes bore into the young queen.</p><p>“I don’t know. I only know that you, Jon, and Brienne have an important part to play in this war. The three heads of the dragon must come together to defeat death. If any of you fail, I don’t see a way to win this war.”</p><p>Jaime huffed in irritation beside Brienne. “Can’t you see the past? How did humanity beat the Others the last time?” Bran’s gaze seemed to drift away again as he spoke. “They didn’t really. The night came and lasted a generation. Nobles, smiths, farmers, and sailors alike froze to death or succumbed to the Others; the Stranger spared no one. Eventually, humanity drove them back. They made a pact with the Children of the Forest and were able to drive back their common enemy in the Battle for the Dawn.  That is when they discovered that dragonglass could kill the Others. The wall was erected to keep the creatures at bay. It is strange. I can see the past but seeing back that far into that particular period of darkness is difficult.  Things become a haze and I can only see fragments. Something is preventing me from seeing it all more clearly.”</p><p>Brienne was not feeling particularly optimistic about their odds upon hearing Bran’s words. “So what are we supposed to do? We have dragonglass and a few valyrian steel swords. It was enough before. Will it be enough now?”</p><p>Bran considered the words but offered no comfort. “Their numbers appeared to be far less the last time. The Night King has had thousands of years to amass a larger army.  What little I am confident in however is that the Night King will come for me. He will follow wherever I am. He marked me.” Bran pulled back his sleeve to reveal the large handprint on his forearm.</p><p>Everyone in the group leaned in to take appraisal of the mark. Jaime spoke first. “Why would he do that? Why is he following you?”</p><p>“He has been trying to rid our world of my predecessors since his creation. So long as I exist as the Three Eyed Raven, his powers seem restricted. If my existence is meant to hold mankind’s memory, he means to wipe it out. He was created by the children of the forest to protect them from the first men. What are men if not but memories… experiences... history. It is how we evolve and grow, by learning from our past. Without our memories, we could not grow and strengthen in effort to take out perceived competition for dominion such as the children of the forest.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until creating the Night King that the children realized the lack of control they had over the creature.”</p><p>Brienne shook her head and spoke in frustration. “I don’t understand. Everyone has the capacity for memories and knowledge of history. We have all those maesters at the Citadel who do nothing but write our history into books. Why must he come for you?”</p><p>Bran smiled at Brienne’s words. “But look how easily we forget history or believe untruths. Stories of our origins are nearly nonexistent. Tales get passed down over the generations and distorted. Or worse yet, people stop believing our history and believe the tales nothing more than stories old nans tell children to keep them in line. I am the living manifestation of truth. Our true history. I can look back and decipher fact from fiction. I can see potentials in our future based on a past that without acknowledgement of history, mankind is doomed to repeat. Your father died without disclosing the truth of your lineage. How else would you have known your truth?”</p><p>Brienne looked down at his words and Daenerys looked imploring at Bran. “So tell us what you see. Tell us what role Jon, Brienne, and myself can play based on what you’ve seen.”</p><p>Bran looked past the group around him as though watching a vision playout that only he could see. “Your grandfather believed the Prince Who was Promised would descend from his line. He believed three of his line would facilitate the actions necessary to complete the prophecy. I see one of you saving me. I see one of you defeating the Night King. I see one of you sacrificing yourself.”</p><p>At Bran’s words, the atmosphere in the room shifted. The air in the room felt thick and no one moved. It was Tyrion who broke the silence. “Must it be that way?”</p><p>Bran shrugged. “I don’t know. I only see what could come to pass and, in that vision, I see the dead defeated. I imagine there are other ways things could play out with a similar or different outcomes, but my ability to see the future is not like my ability to see the past. The past is set and can’t be changed. The future is like wandering in the woods. There are many paths one could take to get out, but each path taken sets off a string of events and experiences unique to that path.”</p><p>Brienne felt her chest tighten at the boy’s words. She knew she would give up her life if it meant saving humanity. Saving her children. Saving Jaime. She looked to Jaime who was staring at the floor, his jaw set firm, and his breathing shallow. He was sucking in his bottom lip which Brienne had learned was rarely an indicator of a pleasant mood.</p><p>As if feeling her gaze on him, Jaime’s attention shifted to Brienne. He lowered his voice so that only Brienne could hear his words. “You’re going back to Tarth.” Abruptly, he stood up and stormed out of the room. Everyone appeared shocked by his sudden departure. Everyone but Bran. The boy only offered Brienne a sad smile. “He will understand soon enough.”</p><p>As the group’s conversation continued, Brienne hardly heard the words. Her thoughts were with Bran’s cryptic prophecies and her worries were with Jaime and the twins. As the meeting concluded, Daenerys turned to Brienne and caught her arm. “We should call a war council on the morrow to discuss approach. Will you let Ser Jaime know? I expect he’ll be prepared to lead us with what information we have from Bran.”</p><p>Brienne nodded in affirmation and looked to Sansa. Making her way over to the young woman, Brienne smiled at the young woman. “Lady Sansa. I was hoping to speak with you for a moment.” Sansa offered one of her rare smiles that lacked the cold formality most received. “Of course, shall we speak in my solar?” With a nod of her head, Brienne and Sansa set off. Making their way through the castle, memories flooded back to Brienne of her time there as a prisoner of Ramsay. Of her hand and torture. Of Jaime saving her. Of learning how to leave as more than a sworn sword.</p><p>As the women made their way into the solar, Sansa closed the door behind them and offered Brienne something to drink as the two women sat before the fireplace. “No thank you.” Brienne smiled tentatively and collected her thoughts before proceeding. “Jaime thought it best that anyone incapable of fighting evacuate the North and head for Tarth given the dead’s inability to cross by water. Well... so far as we know.” Sansa nodded slowly and contemplated the words.</p><p>“I think it’s a reasonable plan. I will order all unable to fight to begin the process of heading south. I will recommend Tarth, but even heading south of the Neck would be a reasonable first step to get away from the looming battle.”</p><p>Brienne nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. “I was hoping you might leave for Tarth as well. Tarth will be receiving a lot of refugees and my island, while accustomed to traders from other lands, is not accustomed to such a high volume of temporary residents. They will need a strong leader in my absence. I could think of no one better to trust with the task.”</p><p>Sansa looked away at Brienne’s words and exhaled audibly. “I appreciate your kind words, but truthfully I have no plans to leave the North. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell.  Bran insists he is no longer a Stark, but rather this Three Eyed Raven. Jon is apparently a Targaryen and after bending the knee to Daenerys, the North has been a bit hesitant to follow him as eagerly as they had before. As the oldest of two remaining Starks, many have looked to me for guidance. I’m no warrior, but I can’t abandon my people now.”</p><p>Brienne understood the young woman’s reservations, but now was not the time to take a stand with no fighting skills to protect herself from the horrors of what marched on them. “Lady Sansa, I understand, but you just said you would evacuate all non-fighters. Those who remain will be under Jaime’s military command and Daenerys’ crown. Mayhap it would be best to offer guidance and comfort to those not under leadership during the battle, but rather those forced from their homes to an unfamiliar location.”</p><p>Sansa appeared to consider Brienne’s suggestion. “It’s a fair point. Let me sleep on it Lady Brienne. I promise that I will give it genuine consideration. I also want to understand Ser Jaime’s plans for battle before making a final decision.”</p><p>Brienne nodded in affirmation and stood to leave. “Thank you. And one final thing. If you do elect to lead the refugees to Tarth and lead the island in my stead, I was hoping to ask you a personal favor.”</p><p>Brienne began to fidget with her tunic before taking a breath and looking at Sansa. “If you go to Tarth, I would truly appreciate you keeping an eye on my babies. We do not have a septa for the children. I hadn’t the best experience with my own and Jaime wasn’t particularly fond of his either. Jaime and I have been tending to their needs along with the assistance of a wet-nurse. I would feel much better knowing someone was there to look after them. Alys is a reliable member of my household staff and agreed to keep an eye on them for now, but I would feel better knowing someone such as yourself was there too.”</p><p>Sansa smiled softly and stood from her seat; approaching Brienne. “I would be honored to do that for you and Ser Jaime.  Until your safe return of course, because that is what you will do. You will come out of this Brienne.” Sansa’s tone and eyes were as much of a plea as they were a command. Brienne smiled back at the woman but felt the lump in her throat tighten. The thought of not being there to watch her children grow tore at Brienne’s heart. With a slight nod, Brienne left the room to find Jaime.</p><p>Arriving back at their rooms, Brienne entered to find Jaime sitting on the bed, his head buried between his flesh and false hands. Hearing her enter, Jaime’s head snapped up and his green eyes locked on her. Brienne swallowed thickly and moved into the room, shutting the door firmly behind her. Brienne gathered all her strength and spoke to Jaime. “You know I can’t go back.” Brienne barely got the words out before Jaime went crashing into her; arms wrapped firmly around her body and pulling her head against him.</p><p>“Please. Don’t do this Brienne. Bran said there could be other ways to win this war. Let me fight this battle for us.” Brienne sighed and wrapped her arms around Jaime. “Have you ever run from a fight?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yeah the last line was kind of my middle finger to D&amp;D.  I'll take their words and put them to good use if it kills me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Plan is Formed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jaime leads the war council to outline the plan for the wights. Brienne spots something unusual.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Standing at the head of the table in their makeshift war room at Winterfell, Jaime stared down at the map of Westeros. Around the table stood Brienne, Sansa, Arya, Jon, Daenerys, Tyrion, Varys, Grey worm, Tormund, Bronn, Addam, Lord Royce, two Dothraki, and Bran.</p><p>“Lady Sansa has agreed to order an evacuation of the North for all those incapable of fighting. They will flee to Tarth or if they prefer, south of the neck. For those who are fit to wield a weapon, we will make our stand at White Harbor. Winterfell is too exposed from all angles. We need a castle with access to a port should we need to retreat and to protect us from an attack on all sides.”</p><p>Jon looked up at his words. “You want us to abandon Winterfell? All of our weapons and forces are here.”</p><p>Jaime shrugged as if it was a non-issue. “Then we move them. I would venture to guess that even with all of our supplies in tow, we will be faster moving than the dead. Plus, with access to a port, we can continue to receive supplies from other areas should we need it. We will need someone to manage things from Tarth. Tarth is an island of trade and will ensure anything we are running low on can be procured and shipped to White Harbor.”</p><p>Reluctantly, Jon conceded the point.  Looking around the table, Jaime watched as everyone nodded in agreement at the plan.</p><p>“Should we fail to defeat the dead at White Harbor, we will escape via boat to King’s Landing. All available ships should be sent to White Harbor immediately to ensure we have enough vessels to take the living to safety should the castle fall. The castle at White Harbor is not as impenetrable as Winterfell. I hope it doesn’t come to this, but King’s Landing would be the location that I am most confident we can defeat the dead. Unfortunately, that plan means the destruction of the city.”</p><p>Daenerys gasped at Jaime’s words. “What do you mean!?”</p><p>Jaime sighed. “There are barrels of wildfire placed below the city in the tunnels. The substance is too dangerous to try and relocate to White Harbor, but I would look to lure the dead into the city and evacuate from the tunnels which come out at the harbor. We would of course need the city evacuated ahead of time. Once the dead are within the city walls, we light the wildfire and destroy everything in the city.”</p><p>Varys chimed in. “He speaks the truth. Between Aerys and Cersei, there is more than enough wildfire to ensure nothing survives the blast.”</p><p>Daenerys looked to her advisor with her face frozen in shock. “You have known about this and neglected to inform me?”</p><p>Varys bowed slightly with an apologetic look on his face. “Your Grace, the substance is too dangerous to move, but left undisturbed poses no harm.”</p><p>Lord Royce spoke next. “Why would the dead willingly walk into a city that was devoid of life?”</p><p>“I’ll be the bait just as I will be the bait at White Harbor.” Everyone’s attention shifted to Bran. The Stark sisters exchanged uneasy looks but were not surprised by the boy’s words given his earlier revelation.</p><p>“The Night King is coming for me before anything else. If I am in the city, he will move his forces there.” Bran spoke with little emotion in his voice as though the thought of facing death itself was immaterial.</p><p>Jaime looked back to the group. “We will need a signal to indicate when Bran has been safely removed from the city and the men near the boats can light the wildfire. My thought was to have Daenerys get Bran out on the back of Drogon and order the dragon to breath fire as the signal.”</p><p>Daenerys nodded in affirmation of the plan.</p><p>“There is one other thing. I was thinking about trying to even the numbers <em>before</em> the first stand at White Harbor. Daenerys, can your dragons do a few pass overs of the army moving south to reduce their numbers by way of dragonfire? I know Jon said that the Night King can raise the dead, but he can’t raise ashes.”</p><p>Daenerys’ brows raised in consideration. “It could work, but I could only take Drogon. The dragons have a difficult time anticipating danger from such small targets on the ground. One of them was injured during the battle at King’s Landing by a spear fired from one of Euron’s boats.”</p><p>A smile spread across Bran’s lips. “Lucky for us we have three dragon riders to sit atop three dragons.”</p><p>Jaime scoffed at Bran’s words. “You can’t be serious. Brienne cannot ride a dragon! She has one hand. I could barely hold onto Drogon during the one flight I endured and it wasn’t during a battle where the creature was making unpredictable turns. She will be flung right off!”</p><p>Tyrion’s face widened into a smile. “She won’t need to worry about that. When Aegon the Conqueror and his sister wives rode across the sea, they sat atop saddles. We could have them made. I’m certain Bran can see what they used and help with the specifications.”</p><p>Bran nodded in affirmation and looked back to Jaime. “Problem solved Ser Jaime. Brienne will have a saddle <em>and</em> a hand free to wield her sword should the need arise.”</p><p>“What if the dragons do not accept Jon nor I on their backs?” Brienne looked skeptical about the plan.</p><p>Daenerys seemed to consider the question before speaking. “Neither Viserion nor Rhaegal have had anyone on their backs before. We should have you both bond and train with them.”</p><p>Bran spoke again, this time directing his attention to Jon and Brienne specifically. “Only Targaryens have every been able to command dragons in flight. Jon will need to learn some basic valyrian from Brienne and Daenerys to command them, but he has the proper bloodline to be accepted by the dragons.”</p><p>Jaime looked at Brienne hesitantly, but recalled their earlier debate about her participation in the battle. There had been no swaying her and Jaime knew from the look in her eyes that it was a losing battle on his part. <em>At least from atop one of those beasts, she will be safer than on the ground fighting with one hand.</em></p><p>“How soon can the saddles be made? We should try and get the dragons as many passes at cutting into the army of the dead before the Night King makes it to White Harbor.” Jaime looked around the room to see if anyone had a sense for timing to construct such a contraption.</p><p>Tyrion was the one to speak up. “It’s a larger scale than the model I had drawn up for Bran some years ago, but I imagine they could be completed within the week.”</p><p>Jaime nodded at his brother and looked back around the table. “We should start the evacuation to Tarth or south of the Neck immediately. Lets have the fighting forces begin preparations to leave for White Harbor at once. Those fleeing to Tarth can march with us and take boats from White Harbor. Those preferring to head south of the Neck will need to make their own way.”</p><p>Sansa looked up from the map. “I’ll lead the group to Tarth and oversee management of things from there. I’ll keep an eye on your twins too.” Sansa cast a small smile to Brienne who beamed at the young woman.</p><p>Jaime breathed a sigh of relief at Sansa’s words. “Thank you.”</p><p>As the war council concluded, Jaime grabbed Brienne by the arm and gently guided her to the corner of the room. “Are you certain about this? I can’t lie, I’m a bit relieved that you won’t be on the ground fighting, but I’m also not certain about you on the back of a dragon.”</p><p>Brienne sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I would prefer to be on the ground fighting, but if this is my part to play, I’ll do the best I can.”</p><p>Jaime pulled her close and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “We should send a raven to Alys and let her know the plans. Thank the Gods Sansa is going there.” Brienne nodded in agreement and they set off for the rookery. Entering the room, they found it in a similar state of disarray to the last time they were there after the Bolton’s defeat.</p><p>Finding a clean sheet of parchment, Jaime wrote the missive to Alys as Brienne walked around the dusty room and looked over the scattered papers. Making her way to the window, Brienne observed something strange far off in the distance near the tree line. “Jaime. You should see this.”</p><p>Jaime looked up from the parchment to observe Brienne standing at the window. The morning sun catching her hair and casting a soft shadow on her face. “What is it?”</p><p>“There is something odd near the tree line.” Brienne squinted ahead but offered no further information. Standing from his chair, Jaime walked behind her. Placing his good hand on her hip, Jaime pulled her back slightly so he could see outside the window alongside her.</p><p>“That… is not human. It looks like… fuck! We have to get Jon and Daenerys.”</p><p>Jaime dashed from the room, pulling Brienne by the arm behind him. “Jaime, what did you see? What is it?”</p><p>Jaime could have sworn he was losing his mind. Every part of him wanted to deny what he saw beyond the castle walls and near the tree line but he couldn’t. There was no mistaking the creature. A giant ice spider with something atop his back.</p><p>Weaving through the castle hallway, the pair broke into a sprint as they made their way downstairs and towards the courtyard. “Jon! Daenerys!”</p><p>The pair looked up to the sight of Jaime and Brienne running full force at them. “Sound the horn! There looks to be a wight scout at the tree line.”</p><p>Jon looked to the battlements and yelled at the soldiers to look toward the tree line. The men’s faces went ashen and they looked back to him in a state of panic. “M’lord, there is <em>something</em> there. It looks like…”</p><p>“A giant ice spider.” Jaime completed the thought for them. Jon’s and Daenerys’ eyes widened. Daenerys looked to Jon. “Let me deal with the creature from atop Drogon. It is safer than sending men out there and I will have a better view to see if there is a group with the creature.”</p><p>Jon nodded but quickly added. “I’m going with you.”</p><p>The pair were off in a flurry and as if sensing his mother’s need, Drogon came soaring from above and landed outside the gates. Jaime and Brienne sprinted out after the pair and watched as they climbed atop Drogon and took flight.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Making New Friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Several new acquaintances are made; some friendlier than others</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Brienne stood rigid next to Jaime as they watched Jon and Daenerys take off towards the tree line. Within moments, they could see dragonfire blazing towards the intended target. A shrill cry filled the crisp northern air; mingling with smoke and flames. Hazily, a spear could be seen darting towards Drogon. The winged beast swerved right and circled around.</p><p>Brienne held her breath expecting the threat to have passed, but Drogon circled back towards the tree line and breathed a long row of dragonfire to a position behind the flame-engulfed ice spider. At that moment, a wall of snow and ice came into view like that of an oncoming storm at sea. Drogon veered higher into the cloud cover and Brienne squinted to see from their position just outside the castle walls. Suddenly, a dark mass appeared before them.</p><p>As the figures marched closer, it was more than obvious what it was. The dead. Looking to Jaime with slight panic in her eyes, Brienne unsheathed Oathkeeper. Jaime turned to the battlements and shouted at the men to sound the horn and call to arms any available soldiers in the castle. Quickly, a group of roughly 50 soldiers stood beside Jaime and Brienne; a mix of those on duty or armored from training, representing various houses.  Jaime directed the men to ensure they were armed with dragonglass from the forge or held one of the few precious, valyrian steel swords.</p><p>As the mass came closer, Brienne approximated 100 dead; a mix of wights, wight bears, and one wight giant. Within moments, they were engulfed by the dead. Slashing and hacking her way through the lines, Brienne was surprised at the sloppiness of the dead’s fighting style. The clawed, stabbed wildly, and dove more than employed strategy against their opponents. The wights were easy enough to defeat, but Brienne cast an uneasy eye towards the giant looming in the background. Pressing forward, the living slowly gained advantage. From the corner of her eye, Brienne saw a dead bear charging at Jaime who was engaged with a wight on the ground.</p><p>Darting in front of Jaime, Brienne slashed at the animal’s neck with her sword, but the beast was strong and her left hand still too weak. As the bear’s neck sliced open, Brienne lost her grip on the sword as the beast’s paw sliced into her forearm. With the sword out of her hand, Brienne was left vulnerable to the next threat. The bear fell instantly at the contact with the valyrian steel and Brienne moved to recover Oathkeeper. As she looked up, another wight was bearing down on her, but suddenly a sword went through its neck. Jaime stood over Brienne and pulled her up from the ground.</p><p>They continued to push forward and came within yards of the wight giant. Raising their swords, Jaime and Brienne were taken aback by a sudden burst of dragonfire from the sky. As the top of the giant caught on fire and it began thrashing about, Brienne and Jaime charged the creature and sliced away at its lower body. As the wight fell forward, Brienne looked around to observe the fighting nearly done; the living stood tall and panting from exertion.</p><p>Touching down on the ground, Daenerys yelled for everyone to stand back so she could burn the bodies. Nearly all of the fallen were from the army of the dead, but a few from the living’s forces lay among the mangled bodies. As Jaime and Brienne moved to push everyone back inside, Daenerys and Jon rose into the sky on Drogon and the dragon breathed its fiery breath onto the dead below.</p><p>Regrouping inside the castle, Sansa ran into the courtyard to greet Jon, Daenerys, Brienne, and Jaime. “What happened?”</p><p>Jon looked wary and took a deep breath. “Lady Brienne and Ser Jaime spotted a wight in the distance. Daenerys and I got closer on Drogon and noticed they had a scouting party of anywhere between one hundred to two hundred. We burned through almost half, but the rest attacked outside the gates.”</p><p>Brienne could barley wrap her mind around the encounter. “I don’t understand why they would send scouts. Didn’t Bran say the Night King would come for him? That the Night King knew exactly where he was. Why bother sending a small contingent?”</p><p>Everyone exchanged questioning looks, but no one had an answer. Jaime turned to Brienne. “We should ask Bran why that might be. It does seem strange. Their fighting style is chaotic and lacks any semblance of strategy or form, but I don’t think that means they lack intelligence. There must be a reason.”</p><p>Jon spoke up. “I’ll go talk to Bran. Lady Brienne, you should get that arm treated.” Looking down, Brienne noticed her bleeding arm for the first time. Droplets of blood were falling onto the snow below her feet. <em>Gods my adrenaline must still be going. I barely feel this just as occurred in the bear pit years ago.</em></p><p>Jaime grabbed her arm to inspect the injury. “Seven hells woman. What is it with you and bears? What were you thinking!?” Brienne pulled back her arm and looked at him in irritation. “What was I thinking!? You had a bear charging you while you rolled about on the ground with a wight! You need to be more aware in the next battle. Keep Pod or Bronn at your side.”</p><p>Jaime exhaled and ran his good hand over his face. “Come on.” Jaime grabbed Brienne’s arm and gently pulled her towards the maester’s quarters. As they made their way inside the castle, Brienne could feel Jaime’s eyes locked on her. “What?”</p><p>Jaime shook his head and stopped walking. “I wasn’t ready for that. Seeing those things is rather different than merely talking about them. And then you lost your sword. I just… I can’t lose you in this war Brienne.”</p><p>“Nor I you. So lets both try not to die and pay a bit more attention then.” Jaime dragged her into a side room and locked his arms around Brienne’s waist, kissing her passionately. Brienne deepened the kiss and felt herself being walked backwards as Jaime guided them further into the room; his arms tightening around her. Brienne felt a table behind her back as Jaime leaned into her and dipped his head to her neck. Abruptly his lips stopped their assault on her and Brienne noticed a damp sensation on her neck.</p><p>Pulling Jaime’s head back, Brienne observed tears in his eyes. “Jaime. I’m fine. This is a scratch. You’re fine too. We <em>will</em> be fine.”</p><p>Jaime shook his head; worry etched on his face. “Bran’s stupid prophecy. He said one of you will sacrifice yourself in this war. If ever there was someone more than willing to make such a sacrifice for another it is you. <em>Please</em> Brienne. Promise me you won’t.”</p><p>Brienne felt her breath catch at his words. “I can promise you that I won’t stop fighting. I will do everything I can to stay alive, but I don’t know what is going to happen.” Jaime looked at her with despair in his eyes. He moved his good hand to cup her chin and stroke her cheek with his thumb. “Brienne. Please.” His voice cracked as he pleaded with her, but Brienne could not lie to him.</p><p>She dropped her head to his shoulder and wrapped her warms around him. “I won’t stop fighting Jaime. Neither will you.” They stood there like that for some time and Brienne ran her hand through Jaime’s hair as she tried to calm him.</p><p>“Jaime?” Brienne spoke into his ear.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I’m bleeding all over the floor.” Jaime stepped back to see the puddle of blood from her arm and he gasped. Pulling her arm towards him to inspect the claw marks, Brienne could see that they ran deeper than she originally thought and the wound was now pulsating with her adrenaline having worn off.</p><p>“Seven hells. Let’s get you to the maester.”</p><p>After getting stitches placed in the maester’s room, Brienne and Jaime made their way back down to the main level of the castle. Walking briskly towards the great hall, Tyrion caught sight of them. “Ah Jaime! Brienne! There you are.”</p><p>Tyrion walked over quickly and looked between the pair. “I heard you had a little preview of the dead today.” Jaime snorted at Tyrion’s words and raised Brienne’s bandaged arm. “Yes, quite the preview.” Brienne rolled her eyes and looked back to Tyrion. “We’re fine. There were only one hundred or so of the dead. Sadly we haven’t come close to making a dent in their army.”</p><p>Tyrion smirked at her. “Oh, but you will. I need you to come with me for some measurements. In speaking with the team we’ve assembled to build the saddles, we plan to have everyone working around the clock to fit them to the dragons in a couple of days.”</p><p>Brienne followed Tyrion out into the courtyard and towards the smiths’ makeshift tent. Within the tent was a large team of smiths and seamstresses. Tyrion strode up confidently and locked eyes with the group. “Everyone, this is Lady Brienne. One of our lucky Targaryens who will need to be fitted.”</p><p>Jaime spoke loudly from beside Brienne. “She is a Lannister currently and a Tarth by birth, thank you.” Tyrion rolled his eyes and ignored his brother’s words.</p><p>“Now unlike Jon, she is short her dominant hand. We need to ensure she can properly lock her feet into place and use the strength of her legs to help hold her in place in addition to the belt at her waist.”</p><p>Tyrion cast a sly grin back at Jaime and Brienne. “I trust her legs are strong enough.”</p><p>Jaime smacked his brother upside the head and looked to Brienne apologetically. The group took some measurements to make the saddle for Brienne and then Tyrion lead them outside the castle gates to where Daenerys and Jon stood. Daenerys turned to the trio and her face lifted into a smile. “Sister! There you are.”</p><p>Jaime bit a laugh next to Brienne who stiffened at the words. <em>Gods I will never get used to that.</em> Brienne offered a tense smile and locked eyes with the queen. Daenerys looked to the sky as the dragons circled overhead. “We were thinking it appropriate to begin training given this morning’s incident.”</p><p>Jaime stiffened next to Brienne. “You don’t have the saddles yet. How is she to hold on?”</p><p>Daenerys huffed at Jaime. “I don’t mean to have her in the sky today. I mean for her to meet the dragons.”</p><p>“Meet them!? Like a dinner party?” Jaime guffawed next to Brienne. Elbowing him hard in the side, Brienne glared at Jaime before turning back to Daenerys. “Ignore him. I’ve learned to.”</p><p>Jaime clutched at his heart and feigned offense. Before he could comment further, the dragons’ cries erupted in the sky. Dorgon, Viserion, and Rhaegal touched down on the ground near them and let out a loud roar, announcing their presence to all at Winterfell.</p><p>Brienne chuckled as Jaime stepped back nervously. Daenerys looked to Jon and Brienne, giving them an encouraging nod to follow her. Brienne went to step forward and felt Jaime’s hand around her stump. “Be careful. They don’t look to interested in any meetings.” Brienne gave a reassuring pat to Jaime’s had with her left, but in truth she felt her stomach knotting as her nerves got the best of her.</p><p>Brienne followed Jon and Daenerys towards the beasts and took the queen’s lead. “Like any animal, they just want to be approached respectfully and slowly. Here, place your hand to his face.” Taking Jon’s hand, Daenerys placed Jon’s hand slowly on Rhaegal's snout. The dragon seemed to study Jon, but allowed the man to touch him.</p><p>Daenerys turned to Brienne. “Come with me Brienne. I want you to meet Viserion.” <em>Meet him? I think Jaime had the right of it.</em> As Brienne approached slowly, Viserion turned his head to the women and his snout snarled slightly. Similar to Jon, Daenerys took Brienne’s hand and guided it to Viserion’s snout. Upon making contact with the dragon, Brienne was surprised to note that his snout was rather dry and cool to the touch. The dragon’s eyes closed slightly under Brienne’s touch and Viserion leaned into her hand.</p><p>Daenerys smiled and turned to Brienne. “He likes you.” Brienne smiled nervously and nodded.<em> Better to like me than eat me.</em> Brienne looked over her shoulder to the Lannister brothers. Tyrion looked in awe and giddy. Jaime looked ashen and petrified.</p><p>“Do they only respond to Valryian?” Brienne looked at Daenerys who was also petting Viserion’s snout. “Yes. They are very intelligent and understand the ancient language.”</p><p>Unexpectedly, Viserion sank to his side and extended his wing. Daenerys’ smile widened as she looked back to Brienne. “He wants you to climb atop him.” <em>Seven hells. I thought we were just meeting. Not cavorting about.</em> “Should I do that? He won’t take off, will he?” Daenerys shrugged as if it was some minor detail.</p><p>Brienne reluctantly moved to the side of the animal. <em>How do I even climb up it with one hand?</em> Brienne slowly walked up Viserion’s wing, using her good hand to balance herself in a crouched position. As she moved to the dragon’s back, the animal righted itself and Brienne quickly grabbed one of it’s spikes to steady herself. “Brienne!”</p><p>Brienne turned her head to see Jaime moving forward in a panic, Tyrion grabbing his brother’s arm in protest. Daenerys yelled back “Stop! You’ll startle him!” Viserion reared his head up and started walking backwards as Jaime stopped dead in his tracks.</p><p>Strangely, Brienne felt incredibly calm on Viserion’s back. It was as if the dragon meant to protect her as it backed away from Jaime. <em>Well it got him to shut up quickly. Mayhap I should keep Viserion around.</em> Looking down at everyone the ground, Brienne saw Daenerys smile broadly. Jaime on the other hand still looked panicked. “Brienne. You met him. Time to go now.”</p><p>Brienne smiled widely at Jaime and leaned down to Viserion. “Sovetes.” At her words, Viserion stood on its hind legs and pushed up into flight.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Dragons Take Flight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jon, Daenerys, and Brienne begin their attacks on the dead and learn some new things about their foe.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Viserion moved higher into the sky, Brienne was in awe of how peaceful it was. The wind blew back Brienne’s hair which had grown to shoulder length over the past several months and the slight chill in the air watered her eyes. Looking down at the ground below, Brienne mused at how everyone looked like ants scurrying about. From her left, Brienne could see Daenerys mount Drogon and take flight towards them.</p><p>The young queen and Drogon moved beside Brienne and Viserion; a sly smile on Daenerys’ face. “Saying he likes you was an understatement.” Brienne returned the smile and looked towards Viserion’s head. “It is strange. It is as though he knows what I’m thinking. Connected almost.”</p><p>Daenerys nodded and her smiled widened. “Yes, I would say Viserion has accepted you. It feels the same when I sit atop Drogon.” The wind blew again and a chill ran through Brienne. Her injured arm throbbed from the exposure to the colder temperature and Brienne shrunk in on herself a bit. <em>Gods I can’t imagine how cold this will feel when flying at full speed.</em></p><p>Daenerys looked at Brienne with an amused smile. “You’ll need a cloak when you ride. I promise you that this far north, it only gets worse. We should probably head back down. Your husband nearly passed out at the sight of you taking off on Viserion.”</p><p>Brienne chuckled as the image of Jaime’s panic-stricken face flashed through her mind. <em>Lets hope he either gets used to this scene or that the golden lion has as many lives as a cat.</em> With a nod of her head, Daenerys and Brienne guided the dragons back down to the ground. Jon’s face looked impressed as he continued to stand beside Rhaegal. Tyrion’s face betrayed his mix of jealousy and wonder. Jaime’s face looked as though he had vomited several times over.</p><p>As Brienne dismounted and began to walk towards Jaime, he came rushing to her and pulled her away from Viserion. “What were you doing!? You had no saddle! You could have fallen. What if that thing took off!? What if…” Brienne covered his mouth with her hand. With a smug smile she leaned into Jaime and whispered in his ear. “My legs are strong enough… remember.” She bit her lip to prevent the laughter from spilling from her mouth as Jaime’s eyes hooded and <em>that</em> look filled his eyes.</p><p>“How quickly you replace me with a dragon. I assure you that I’m a much better bed companion. I’m happy to give you a reminder.” Jaime’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. His teasing tone dropped, and the mirth left his eyes. “Please just don’t do that again without warning me or having that saddle.” Brienne nodded in understanding and the pair walked back towards the castle.  </p><p>Brienne felt Jaime staring at her as they made their way towards the courtyard; Tyrion, Jon, and Daenerys not far behind them. As she met his eyes, a smile tugged at his lips. “You look much sexier on that thing than the other two.” Brienne rolled her eyes, giving him a playful smack on the chest with the back of her hand. “You’re an idiot.” She muttered in a light tone. “Your idiot. I also might need to change. I think I pissed myself back there.” Brienne snorted and leaned into him slightly.</p><p>A few days of continued training with the dragons passed before the saddles were ready.  Those unable to fight had already evacuated the North to move south of the Neck or to head towards White Harbor. The forces were split into two groups. The first group was roughly two-thirds of their amassed forces and was tasked with relocating all the supplies and escorting any refugees electing to flee to Tarth. Sansa joined the march south to follow through on her commitment. The remaining forces stayed behind to protect the Queen, Jon, and Brienne as they awaited the saddles to begin the attacks on the dead. Bran also remained behind to keep them updated on the progress of the Night King’s army. Upon word of the saddles’ completion, Jon, Daenerys, and Brienne made their way to the courtyards with Tyrion and Jaime at their heels.</p><p>Before departing, Sansa had made Brienne a thicker jacket that, unlike a billowing cloak, buttoned in the front to keep her warm on Viserion’s back. Sansa also fashioned a thicker version of her earlier created stump cover for Brienne. As the workers finished saddling the dragons, Brienne felt Jaime’s hand grab her arm. “Please be careful. Protect yourself.” Placing a delicate kiss on Brienne’s lips, Jaime leaned his forehead against Brienne’s and pulled her close. Brienne smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. “I will be fine. We’ll be high enough to avoid any counterattack and your plan is sound. We need to kill as many as we can before they reach White Harbor.”</p><p>Moving away from Jaime, Brienne climbed atop Viserion and sat in the saddle. The workers showed her how the straps functioned and Brienne was surprised at how secure she felt. With the restraints, she would barely need a hand to hold on and she could truly wield Oathkeeper should it be necessary. <em>Gods help me should there be such a reason to wield a sword from a dragon’s back.</em></p><p>Casting a look down at Jaime, his eyes betrayed the smile he was forcing on his face. “Do you feel secure enough? Maybe we need a bit longer to practice with these. Get the fit right. Maybe we shouldn’t send all three dragons just in case.”</p><p>“Jaime. I’m fine. I feel very secure. I’ll be back soon.” Brienne gave him a reassuring smile and watched as he slowly backed away towards Tyrion. Looking to Daenerys, Brienne nodded and watched as the queen took off into the sky. Jon and Brienne exchanged a look and followed her lead quickly. Jon knew the North best and eventually took lead and followed Bran’s latest information on the approximate location of the Night King’s army.</p><p>They flew through the frigid northern air for roughly two hours. The closer they were to the general area of target, the darker the sky became and the colder the temperature. Brienne was thankful for the new, heavy jacket and stump cover. Her cheeks and nose had gone numb from the air rushing at them and the slight tearing from the wind had frozen on her face.</p><p>Suddenly in the distance, Brienne could make out the dark mass of dead slowly marching south. Jon turned to look back at her and Daenerys; ensuring they were witnessing the same thing that he was. All three nodded in acknowledgement and moved to position. Before taking flight, they had discussed approach. They felt it best to attack from different angles; Daenerys from the right, Jon from the center, and Brienne from the left. By coming from various points in the sky, they felt it safest for them and most likely to ensure they kept the army of the dead disoriented; if in fact such a state was even possible for dead men.</p><p>Brienne veered Viserion left and moved to circle around to face the dead. Keeping a high enough elevation to avoid reach of the giants and any weapons the dead were equipped with, Brienne leaned low against Viserion and spoke commandingly. “Dracarys!” Dragonfire sprayed down and cut through the middle of the ranks. Shrill cries filled the air and mere yards away, Drogon came flying by from across the opposite end of the dead’s forces. As Brienne passed, she could make out Jon in the distance cutting a path up the middle of the army from the south. Viserion circled around to line up for a second attack and Brienne looked to the ground to observed thousands of dead encased in fire. <em>Gods its working!</em></p><p>Each dragon made another couple of passes through and set different sections of the army ablaze. The air filled with the battle cries of dragons and shrill screams of the dead. Unlike a human army that would likely break formation and run chaotically from the unexpected attack, the dead merely slowed their march and looked to the skies. Then, the air shifted.</p><p>Similar to the attack at Winterfell, a wall of snow and ice approached rapidly from the North. Sensing the change in atmosphere, the dragons moved to climb above the incoming storm clouds. Jon, Daenerys, and Brienne moved towards one another and Brienne struggled to hear Daenerys words to them.</p><p>“I can’t make out anything below! The storm is too heavy! We should head back!” Brienne nodded in understanding, but Jon said something that she couldn’t quite make out. As she leaned forward and strained to hear him, a spear came hurtling from under the cloud cover. Rhaegal’s wing was grazed by the spear and the dragon let out a sharp cry. Daenerys eyes flashed in panic as the three dragons moved away from their huddled position above the clouds. They eventually regrouped further south and Jon confirmed they were alright, but Rhaegal was struggling slightly.</p><p>“Lets head back to Winterfell!” Daenerys commanded and all three turned to head southwest.  Quite some time later, they touched down on the grounds of Winterfell’s outer gates. With shouts from the battlements, the gates opened to see Jaime and Tyrion running out with soldiers to greet them.</p><p>Brienne removed the restraints and climbed down Viserion’s wing. Jaime grabbed her arm to help her down and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Thank the Gods. You’re all back. What happened out there?”</p><p>Brienne looked back to Daenerys and Jon who were inspecting Rhaegal’s wing. The animal would be fine, but would require some time to recover. “Your plan worked well. We set ablaze roughly one-tenth of their army. A few more passes should greatly reduce their numbers and even the odds before we reach White Harbor. Something strange happened though. Another blizzard hit as happened during the attack here. It seems every time the dead are attacked, somehow, they can summon the elements to disorient the dragons. A spear nearly took down Rhaegal.”</p><p>Jaime exhaled and looked contemplative. “I was speaking to Bran earlier and I think we need to regroup on some things. Bran has seen the Night King control the weather before and we’ll need to better anticipate how to protect the dragons and the three of you when it occurs. Lets get you inside and warm. Your face is like ice.” Jaime’s good hand cupped her cheek and the warmth of his touch felt amazing. <em>Seven hells I didn’t realize how numb my face had gone</em>.</p><p>Everyone retreated into the castle for shelter and warmth. Jon, Daenerys, and Brienne were served warm soup and placed near the hearth. Jaime put a protective arm around Brienne and sat close; offering his body warmth to help warm her extremities.  Daenerys sighed loudly and looked around their group. “The plan was excellent Ser Jaime, but we need to figure out approach once the initial surprise of our attacks has passed and the dead use protective measures. They seem to have incredible reach and accuracy with spears. We were well above the cloud cover when Rhaegal was hit.”</p><p>Bran suddenly spoke from his position in the corner. “It was the Night King. He had been behind the army with his generals and brought the storm. Then he launched the spear skyward. I can’t say for certain, but I think his vision is far superior to our own. He may be able to see through the blizzard in ways we can’t. I can also confirm Brienne’s estimates from earlier. Nearly one-tenth of their army lies in ashes, but they will amass more forces as they march south; overrunning villages and cities. We need to continue the attacks.”</p><p>Everyone nodded in agreement before Brienne spoke. “But how do we counter these blizzards? They are blinding and disorienting to the dragons. The dragons instinctively rise above the clouds and we can’t urge them lower.”</p><p>Jaime furrowed his brows and spoke questioningly to Brienne. “You said the blizzard moved rapidly towards you from the north and over the army?”</p><p>Daenerys, Jon, and Brienne nodded in confirmation. Daenerys spoke further. “It came on rapidly from and moved southward. It seems to pass over the army and settle above their southward march.”</p><p>Jaime sighed and shrugged. “What about circling around and attacking from the North when that happens? If the storm settles over their ranks with the Night King at the back, perhaps the storm itself would lift sooner from the norther flanks and you could see from that angle.”</p><p>Daenerys gave a slight nod in agreement. “We could try on the next pass. Worst case if we still can’t access them, we keep using these short, sporadic attacks to reduce their numbers. Even if we can halve them before they reach White Harbor, that should make a significant difference.”</p><p>Jaime nodded. “Perhaps we should linger at Winterfell longer. If they are truly heading towards Bran, keeping him guarded here with us will encourage the dead to waste time moving southwest. That will give you more passes at them.”</p><p>The group agreed to the suggestion and decided to send Drogon and Viserion for another pass on the morrow. Rhaegal would require an additional day or two to recover. As they continued sitting around the fire, Jaime leaned towards Brienne. “Are you warmer? You still feel a bit cool.” Brienne did notice the slight chill lingering, but felt much better than when she had returned. “I’m not as cold now than before. I’m sure I’ll feel warm just in time to head out again tomorrow.”</p><p>Jaime whispered into her ear and Brienne could feel the smile on his lips. “I know a way to warm you up faster.” Brienne rolled her eyes but would much prefer the time alone with Jaime under the furs than huddled with the group in front of the hearth. Bidding the group goodnight, Brienne rose from her chair and grabbed Jaime’s arm; guiding him towards their room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Dead's Counter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The dead demonstrate an ability to deploy war strategy. The forces at Winterfell retreat to White Harbor.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week passed and there had been much success in the dragon strikes against the army of the dead. Bran confirmed that their forces were nearly halved and Jaime’s suggestion at approaching form the north once the Night King summoned his protective storms enabled the dragons to remain closer to their targets and their riders to see the targets. It was not a perfect solution, but it enabled several of the Night King’s general to be destroyed and their wights with them.</p><p>The three Targaryens again moved into the courtyard to prepare for another flight. Given the dead’s location, Jaime felt it best to make this the last pass before their remaining forces moved south taking Bran with them. If they waited any longer the dead’s army would block them from passing southeast to White Harbor and they would be cutoff from aid.  </p><p>Brienne climbed onto the back of Viserion for what felt like the millionth time. She had become more accustomed to the sensation of flying atop the dragon and more than anything, she felt a strong connection to the great beast. Her days making passes over the dead had fallen into a routine. They would leave in the morning to head towards their target. After cutting fiery lines through the dead’s forces, they would retreat to Winterfell to hear Bran’s estimate of the dead’s remaining numbers and take in nourishment to keep their energy up. Jaime was quite fond of his role in warming Brienne up as quickly as possible and slowly he became less weary of her flights to the east.</p><p>Climbing atop Viserion, Brienne gave a small smile to Jaime who returned her gesture with a sly smile and a suggestive wink. <em>Insufferable man</em>. <em>Quite handsome though and annoying lovable.</em> As the dragons took flight, Brienne took the time to truly admire the landscape from her vantage point. On her prior flights, she had been more hesitant to take in the scenery as her level of confidence sitting atop Viserion was still low.</p><p>It was not long this time before they reached the dead. <em>They seem closer than Bran though. We need to hurry back and consider our retreat tonight. </em> They broke into formation again and moved against their targets. Things began routine enough, but something seemed to shift in the air. The dead appeared fewer than expected as she made her approach. Almost half of what she had seen the day prior and devoid of their more formidable wights. No giant wights, ice spiders, nor generals on horseback could be seen below.</p><p>Then Brienne heard it, the unmistakable sound of a dragon’s shrill cry. Snapping her head to the east, she gasped at the sight of Jon and Rhaegal falling towards the ground at high speed. <em>No!</em> In the distance, Brienne could see the rest of the dead’s numbers slowly emerging from the tree line below. They had hidden in the woods as though expecting an attack. The Night King himself stood at the edge of the woods with an evil smirk on his face and reaching back to his general for another spear.  </p><p>Glancing to Daenerys, she could see the young queen’s eyes widen in fear. Rhaegal hit the ground with an intense crash that echoed through the barren northern landscape. From Brienne’s vantage, she observed the beast land on its belly, increasing the odds of Jon’s survival given the strength of the harnesses they wore. <em>I need to get to Jon!</em> Veering off course, Brienne urged Viserion forward, darting towards the area Jon and his dragon had fallen. From the side, Brienne could sense danger. Commanding Viserion left, they darted out of the way of a long ice spear just in time for it to fly past her head. <em>Seven hells the Night King’s aim is true.</em> Reaching Jon and the fallen Rhaegal, Brienne could see the man assessing the dragon; panic written across his face. Wights surged towards them from the west as Viserion touched down. Brienne screamed to Jon. “Hurry! Climb up!” Jon sprinted forward and mounted Viserion, gripping Brienne’s waist tightly. He yelled to Brienne. “Rhaegal is lost to us!” Urging Viserion skyward, they barely dodged another spear hurtling towards them. Regrouping with Daenerys some distance away, Jon cast an apologetic look at the queen. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see the threat!”</p><p>Daenerys merely shook her head and took off towards Winterfell. As they reached the castle and touched down, Jaime came sprinting towards them from the gate. “What happened!? Where is Rhaegal?”</p><p>Daenerys fell to the ground screaming and sobbing. Jon moved to comfort her, but the queen was inconsolable. Brienne quickly recounted what happened and Jaime’s eyes widened in concern. “We need to leave. Now!”</p><p>Jaime ran to the castle with Brienne at his heel. The sound of mourning dragons filled the castle grounds as they lifted into the air and circled restlessly. Brienne was surprised at the speed in which they were able to evacuate the remaining forces to head towards White Castle. Daenerys rode south atop Drogon and Brienne atop Viserion. The queen was worried for the safety of her remaining children and needed to ensure they had the eyes of riders to watch the ground for signs of danger.</p><p>The journey atop the dragons would have been much faster had they not needed to remain with the men on the ground; ensuring their safety in the event of an unforeseen encounter with smaller groups of the dead.  The journey by foot would take near a week and in theory, the force should be safe form attack as they were to the west of the White Knife river which offered few crossing opportunities for the Night King’s army. As Brienne, Daenerys, and Jon had engaged the army just north east of the river, Brienne estimated the dead would reach White Harbor mere days after they would give their slower pace of the wights.</p><p>Making camp on that first night, Brienne sat at the fire beside Jaime who pulled her close and pressed a warm kiss to her temple. “We didn’t burn Rhaegal. There wasn’t enough time.” Brienne felt the weight of her words settle between them. Jaime sighed. “It was most important that you got to safety. We’ll face whatever comes our way. We still have two dragons. That must be better than one.”</p><p>Jaime’s words didn’t serve to make Brienne feel any better.<em> I wasn’t thinking strategically. Only of survival. I failed.</em> Brienne ran her good hand through her hair in frustration and looked towards the skies where the dragons circled above, scouting for food in the distance.</p><p>“Come to bed Brienne. You’ll feel better after some rest. We have a long day tomorrow.” Jaime stood and extended his hand, fatigue in his eyes and a tense set in his facial features. Brienne shook her head. “It won’t change my failure. I should have thought to burn the fallen dragon. I should have signaled Daenerys and Jon when I felt something was wrong. I could see half of their forces missing and could sense something was off.” Brienne looked to the fire and from the corner of her eye, watched Jaime’s hand fall to his side.</p><p>Sinking to his knees, Jaime grabbed her chin and turned her face to his. His eyes bore into hers. “Don’t you think that. You saved Jon from certain death and risked your own life in the process to get to him. You did what you had to in order to save the remaining two dragons.” Brienne appreciate his effort, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed in herself.</p><p>Her mind thick with memories of the past. She failed. She failed a she failed Renly. As she failed Lady Catelyn. As she failed to persuade the Blackfish. As she failed to escape Bolton’s men. As she failed to see through Genna’s lies. As she failed to save her father.</p><p>Jaime pulled Brienne into a tight embrace as if sensing her darkening thoughts. Whispering into her ear, Jaime pulled her tighter to him. “Brienne listen to me. You are the bravest woman I know. The strongest and most honorable and most loyal. You have failed no one. Do you hear me?”</p><p>Brienne felt herself melt into his embrace. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she let her head fall to his shoulder.<em> I can’t fail again. I can’t fail the living. I can’t fail Jaime. </em></p><p>Near a week passed on their march to White Harbor. Daenerys and Brienne would north to monitor the progress of the dead and Brienne’s estimate was spot on. They had a few days on the dead and could only hope the forces already at their destination had begun the preparations Jaime ordered. Crossing the bridge over the White Knife into the city, Brienne observed the hustle of soldiers in the distance.</p><p>As they approached the castle at White Harbor, Bronn came sauntering out. “Bout bloody time! I was startin’ to think ya took off for Essos and left us all here.” Looking around at the weary forces and sunken expressions, the sellsword’s smile fell. “What happened?” Jaime sighed and looked at Bronn. “We cut their forces in half, but we lost a dragon.”</p><p>“Well fook me.” Bronn understood the implications immediately and Brienne’s heart fell again.  They made their way inside for an update on the effort fortifying the castle. Jaime received reports from Tormund, Addam, Bronn, and Lord Royce on their delegated tasks before giving further instruction and concluding the war council. Their fatigued group made haste towards the hall for hot food and ale.</p><p>As they sat down, Tyrion bounded over with a scroll in hand bearing the Tarth sigil. “Brother. Goodsister. Word from Lady Sansa.” Brienne’s spirits lifted at the thought of an update from Tarth. Jaime grabbed the missive and scooted closer to Brienne so they could read the update together.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Ser Jaime and Lady Brienne,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I pray your journey south was safe and relatively uneventful. All is well on Tarth. The refugees have taken to assisting the residents prepare supplies which were shipped out yesterday. Weapons, clothing, and grain stores. I have to say, many of my northern people have taken to Tarth in the most unexpected of ways. I would venture to guess Tarth will see an increase in permanent residents after the war. The locals are teaching them the island’s ways including some colorful Valyrian phrases.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The twins are well and absolutely adorable. Little Selwyn is quite the handful and keeps everyone busy around the clock. I’ve never heard a babe babble so much; Ser Jaime being his closest competition. Little Catelyn may just be the easiest babe I’ve ever experienced. At such a young age, I think she is already attempting the art of the eye roll at her brother’s antics. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’ve sent word to King’s Landing about the plans to evacuate should White Harbor fall. They have confirmed receipt of my missive and will prepare for the worst. I pray daily to the old gods for your safety and success.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yours,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sansa Stark </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Battle at White Harbor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Night King arrives and the living get their first taste of the army of the dead.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Days passed with continued preparations to fortify White Harbor from the dead. As the group sat around the table in the great hall, Jaime gazed at Brienne who ate slowly; her brows furrowed and eyes distant in thought. Placing his good hand on her knee, he gave a light squeeze to draw her attention to him. A silent conversation passed between them. <em>Are you alright?</em> Brienne’s eyes gave him the answer he knew to be false. <em>I’m fine</em>.</p><p>Jaime narrowed his eyes. <em>Liar</em>. Brienne huffed in irritation and silently gave her answer before looking back to her barely eaten soup. <em>Not now. Not here</em>. Since he met Brienne in the Riverlands so many years ago, Jaime felt a strong connection to her. Cersei had always called Jaime her other half. <em>Two halves of a whole</em>. It took meeting Brienne for Jaime to realize how wrong that was. Jaime was whole on his own. Brienne helped him see that.</p><p>Brienne didn’t make him whole Jaime, she complemented him. Brienne brought out the best in him and chastised the worst. She supported him and cared for him in ways no one ever had. They read each other well and even from their earliest days together before they would even call the other a friend, they understood one another. Jaime had felt this deep connection with Brienne long before he admitted to himself what the depth of his feelings for the tall warrior meant.</p><p>It wasn’t long into their marriage that their deep understanding of one other translated into a wordless communication in public settings. It unnerved those closest to them, but it made Jaime feel good to know he could read and understand Brienne in ways no one else could.</p><p>Before he could grab her hand to pull her out of the hall and somewhere more private, Bran’s ominous voice cut through the noise of the hall. “They’re here.” Seconds later, the horn sounded. Jaime and Brienne immediately looked to one another. <em>Stay alive</em>. A shared request. A shared prayer to the Gods for the other’s safe return.</p><p>Jumping from their seats, they made their way through the winding corridors of the castle. Jaime grabbed Brienne’s wrist with his good hand; a gesture they had come to use as their form of hand holding when walking side by side.</p><p>As they neared the battlements of the castle, Brienne turned to Jaime who pulled her into a tight embrace before kissing her lips. “Be safe. We’ll talk when you come back. Yes?” Brienne smiled tightly and nodded; hugged him tightly in return. As Daenerys approached, the two women exchanged a look and made their way down to the courtyard to meet the awaiting dragons.</p><p>They plan was clear. Use the dragons to attack from the sides of the Night King’s army, cutting through the middle as they did on their passes in the North. If the Night King summoned his blizzard-like storms, they would circle around from the north to attack the rear of the dead’s lines. It was assumed that the Night King would have raised Rhaegal, but they were uncertain in what capacity the dead dragon would engage them.</p><p>The Dothraki would lead the defense on horseback from the east given their ability to cut through the lines of the dead faster than foot soldiers. They would hold back their attack until the dead neared the first set of trenches. The plan involved the Dothraki cutting east to west and then west to east again; just as Daenerys and Brienne would do the same from atop the dragons. The archers from the Stormlands would cast fiery arrows down towards the first line of trenches which stretched from the tree line to the shore. The trenches were meant to slow the deads’ progress from a full stampede to a trickle. If and when they made it through the first line of trenches, they would be met on the ground by the full force of the Westerosi armies.</p><p>The second set of trenches was their fallback plan. Should the dead overrun them or should any other element of their plan fail, the foot soldiers would retreat. The second set of trenches, which were closer to the castle, would be set ablaze once their men made it past. That would provide enough cover for their men tot get to the boats for retreat where they would set sail for King’s Landing.</p><p>Jaime marched purposefully towards the front lines. He found himself standing near Addam, Bronn, Tormund, Jon, and Grey Worm. In the distance, Jaime could see the outlines of the Dothraki forces atop their mounts. In the distance, Jaime observed dark clouds moving in over an even darker sky.<em> Here they come.</em></p><p>Jaime’s attention was suddenly drawn back to the Dothraki. The sounds of horses whinnying and stomping impatiently filled the air. Soon another sound filled the air. The sounds of Dothraki shouts in a language Jaime couldn’t make out. <em>What is going on?</em> Then, screams from the right flank made their way down the lines. “The horses! They’re spooked! Look out!”</p><p>Thousands of horses came barreling wildly through the lines and back towards the castle. Many men were trampled to death by the rush and most began to flee their formation towards the middle of the forces where Jaime stood. The desperate flight of men from the east and horses from the north caused chaos to ensue. Many Dothraki sprinted after their horses while others appeared to charge into the blackness before them.</p><p>Then, a cold burst of air hit. Low cloud cover blanketed the sky and the sound of dragon cries filled the air. Looking up, Jaime saw Brienne and Daenerys take flight, but they weren’t alone. Carving a path straight towards them was the Night King on the back of Rhaegal. Blue fire spewed forth from the dead dragon’s mouth and laid waste to much of the Dothraki below. <em>Shit!</em></p><p>Jaime yelled for the archers to light the first set of trenches. The command moved down the ranks until Jaime saw flaming arrows pierce the night sky. Within moments the first line of trenches was set ablaze and the army of the dead could be seen colliding with little care into the trap. Drogon and Viserion cut through the sky and their fire illuminated the ground and dead army below.</p><p>Then, the Night King carved a path back towards the ranks of the living. The left flank erupted into screams of pain and desperation. The Night King was wreaking the same havoc on their army that Daenerys and Brienne were on his. Abruptly, Jaime watched as one of the living dragons came darting towards the Night King and Rhaegal. <em>Brienne. </em></p><p>Feet in front of Jaime, the dead began crossing through the trenches. Using their own numbers to lay across the trap and build a bridge of death, dead men from the back charged across frantically. Jaime raised his sword and met the dead head on. Chaos surrounded him and Jaime felt danger from all sides. As he thrust Widow’s Wail into one dead man, another ran at him from the right. Before Jaime could turn to meet the dead creature, Addam’s dragonglass weapon was through its neck. With a nod of thanks, they continued making quick work of dead man after dead man.</p><p>Then Jaime’s attention was drawn to blue and orange flames above. Viserion and Rhaegal were locked in battle and Jaime watched as the Night King reached for his ice spear. Just as the creature pulled back his arm and took aim at Brienne, Daenerys appeared on Drogon. Drogon breathed fire onto his undead brother and then clawed at the smaller dragon’s neck; tearing out a chunk of its flesh. The two dragons clawed and nipped at one another as Viserion circled around and bit down onto Rhaegal’s tail.</p><p>In the chaos, the Night King plummeted to the ground below just to the left of their forces near the tree line. He was caught alone on their side of the trenches. Jaime called for the men to make their way towards the area the Night King fell, but the dueling dragons landed on the ground before them unintentionally blocking the path. Unbeknownst to Jaime, Brienne was making her way down from Viserion and moving quickly towards the Night King. Catching sight of her, Jaime watched in horror as Brienne unsheathed her sword and moved engage the Night King. <em>Gods no! Brienne!</em></p><p>Jaime began running in between legs of the dragons; living and dead. Daenerys remained atop Drogon focusing her efforts on downing Rhaegal. Once pas the limbs of the fighting dragons, Jaime took off sprinting towards Brienne. Distantly, he could hear his men calling him from behind, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t leave Brienne alone with the Night King. As hear neared the edge of the tree line, he felt a presence beside him. Jon, Tormund, and Grey Worm were charging alongside him. Jaime could hear Bronn and Addam at his back slashing away at the dead who had made it through the trenches towards the tree line.</p><p>As they neared the trees, Jaime saw Brienne and the Night King exchanging blows. The creature was too strong and too fast. Within just a handful of moves, Brienne was on her back, Oathkeeper feet away on the ground. Jaime implored his legs to move faster. To get to her. The Night King raised his sword above his head, but Grey Worm’s spear went whizzing past Jaime towards the enemy. Barely deflecting the spear in time, the Night King looked to their incoming group and squared his shoulders to face them effectively taking his focus off Brienne. Brienne scrambled to her sword and moved to swing at the creature again, but he blocked without even turning to look at her.</p><p>The fight quickly became seven on one, but no one could land a blow against the Night King. He was unbelievable with a blade and seemed to anticipate every attack with ease. It was as though he was toying with them. The fight was interrupted by the cries of an approaching dragon. Blue flame crept towards their backs and the living dove out of the way just in time.</p><p>The watched on in awe as the Night King climbed atop Rhaegal and took off due north into the night. Jaime ran over to Brienne, fury in his eyes. “What were you thinking!? You could have been killed! You need to get back on Viserion!”</p><p>Brienne’s eye mirrored his rage. “I had to try! I saw an opening.” As they argued, the group with them assessed the state of the battle. Jon spoke ominously. “We need to order the retreat. We’re not ready. The Night King is too strong and we need a better plan.”</p><p>Jaime turned to observe the battle. It was pure carnage. The sounds of dying men and the shrill screams from the dead mingled together in a symphony of death. Jaime huffed in frustration. The Night King would grow his army tonight. With a nod to Jon, they ran back towards the castle. Viserion was obediently awaiting Brienne’s return and as she climbed atop. Jamie sent an imploring look her way. <em>Please. Don’t do get yourself killed.</em></p><p>Jon gave the signal to the men atop the battlements who blew the horn to signal the retreat. What remained of their living forces began to retreat past the castle and to the harbor. As their group and the rest of the living made it past the second trenches, the archers set the traps ablaze.</p><p>Throngs of men quickly crowded the boats as the living dragons circled overhead. Jaime climbed aboard one of the ships and stood on the deck, staring up into the night sky. As the ships moved back from the docks, Jaime watched as the dead stood eerily quiet, observing them as they left. The Night King returned atop Rhaegal and landed atop the battlement of the castle. The dead dragon’s cries filled the night air. <em>We aren’t strong enough. We need wildfire. </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Retreat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brienne gets things in motion for the next battle.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The one benefit to travel by dragon was the substantially shorter travel time.  Upon leaving White Harbor, Daenerys and Brienne convened in the night skies. They decided it would be best for Daenerys to fly ahead to King’s Landing to give the people added time to evacuate and prepare. Brienne would fly to Tarth to inform the citizens and refugees of the additional supplies they would need shipped to the capital immediately. She would also work with Sansa to get word to all major holdings north of King’s Landing that the dead approached; their path to the capital unclear.</p><p>As Viserion soared through the sky, Brienne enjoyed the serenity of it after the chaos of the battle. Replaying the battle with the Night King in her mind, Brienne scolded herself at the carelessness of her actions. Jaime had the right of it; being angry with her.</p><p>The thoughts pushed another to the forefront of her mind. The very thought that had been swirling in her mind for days that she refused to voice for fear doing so would make it true. Her moonblood was late. Quite late.</p><p>When the letter from Jon had arrived about the Wall falling, Brienne knew that she would need to stop nursing the babies. Alys warned her that without the babes to remove her milk, Brienne could experience painful swelling and potential infection. Much to Brienne’s dismay, they needed to bring in a second wet-nurse to take on her share of the feedings which were already supported with wet-nurse. The twins just demanded too much milk around the clock.</p><p>Brienne had a light moonblood not long after she stopped nursing the babes which didn’t surprise her given how recently she had stopped her postpartum bleeding. It was worrying however that her moonblood did not return after that. She was a fortnight late for her courses and was beginning to experience similar symptoms to those she had with the twins; dizzy, fatigued, and poor appetite.</p><p>Brienne’s stomach tensed at the thought of being pregnant so soon after birthing the twins and during a war with death itself. <em>Why was I so stupid? Why didn’t I think to drink moon tea?</em> Jaime knew something was off with her. He could always tell and even called her out on it before the horn sounded. Initially she thought it lucky timing; sparing her from the dreaded conversation. Then when the Night King almost killed her, Brienne scolded herself for being so careless and not being honest with Jaime beforehand.</p><p><em>I’m under a lot of stress. Mayhap that is throwing things off. Mayhap my moonblood will return soon. It is still so few weeks since I stopped nursing the babes.</em> NO matter what excuses Brienne made, she resolved that she would need to see a maester if her moonblood had not returned by the time the ships reached King’s Landing. She had to tell Jaime of her suspicions.</p><p>As she neared Tarth, Brienne admired her home from above. The distant torchlights danced below and as they lowered from the sky, Brienne watched the waves lap against the shore. Viserion came to rest outside the castle and Brienne dismounted quickly. The guards outside bowed and smiled broadly. “Lady Evenstar.”</p><p>Brienne smiled at the men and entered the castle. Noise carried from the great hall and Brienne walked towards the sound. Entering the hall, Brienne observed Sansa, Alys, and several ladies from the northern retreat sitting around the table chatting. Seeing Brienne, Sansa jumped from her chair and ran to her; throwing her arms around her.</p><p>“Thank the Gods Brienne you are alright. What happened?” Sansa grabbed Brienne’s shoulders and pulled back to look her in the eyes. Brienne’s face fell from the initial excitement in seeing her friend. “White Harbor has fallen my lady. We lost many in our forces and the armies are retreating to King’s Landing as I speak.”</p><p>Sansa sucked in a breath and paled slightly. All chatter in the hall ceased at Brienne’s ominous words. It was Alys who spoke next. “Your lord husband?” Brienne smiled at Alys. “Ser Jaime is fine as are most of our commanders that I could spot. Queen Daenerys flies to the capital now to evacuate everyone to Dorne. We need to begin preparations here to ship supplies to King’s Landing.”</p><p>Turning back to Sansa, Brienne took a deep breath. “We’ll need to ship more supplies beginning on the morrow. I also want to send missives to all holdings south of the neck that the army of the dead marches south. Hopefully most can get away in time. At the pace the dead move, I imagine we should have near a moon’s turn to prepare. This form of death seems to prefer slow and painful.”</p><p>Sansa looked to the floor and swallowed thickly. “Yes, we’ll see to the preparations first thing on the morrow. Brienne, you must be hungry or thirsty. Please, sit with us.” The statement quickly conjured Brienne’s earlier line of thinking and her stomach flipped slightly.</p><p>“I’m alright my lady. I was actually thinking I might go see the babes. Are they asleep?” Alys jumped from her seat. “By the Seven please don’t wake little Sel. He fought bedtime like the Stranger himself would come for him it he succumbed to rest.” Brienne snorted. <em>Little Jaime indeed</em>. “Very well. Maybe I’ll sneak in and grab little Cat then.” Both Sansa and Alys smiled with relief.</p><p>Brienne made her way up the stairs to the nursery. Her emotions began to build as she neared their room and opened the door to peer inside. The room was encased in moonlight and the salty breeze rising up from the cliffs in the distance kissed Brienne’s cheek. Approaching little Cat’s cradle, Brienne couldn’t help the wide smile that tugged at her lips.</p><p><em>Gods she got so big in this short time</em>. Reaching down, Brienne scooped up her baby girl and held her close, stroking her little head. The babe yawned and lazily opened her eyes to meet Brienne’s. Instant recognition washed over little Cat’s features and the babe began cooing. Brienne sat in the chair placed in the corner of the room and rocked the babe back to sleep on her chest. Once the babe was out and Brienne had her fill of baby snuggles, she tucked little Cat back into her cradle and snuck out of the room after a quick glance at little Sel.</p><p>The room she and Jaime shared adjoined the nursery and Brienne slipped in. She quickly changed into more relaxing attire and sat on the bed. Laying on Jaime’s side, Brienne breathed in the scent. <em>The pillow and sheets still smell of Jaime</em>. Within minutes, Brienne had fallen into a deep sleep.</p><p>The next day, Sansa and Brienne met in the study to discuss needs for the next battle and communication to go to the other houses below the Neck. Brienne recounted the events that transpired since Sansa’s departure for Tarth. The encounters with the dead before White Harbor. The loss of Rhaegal and near loss of Jon. The battle at White Harbor. The horror that was the Night King.</p><p>Brienne spent every minute she could holding her babes in the sling Alys had given her. Feeling them close set her at ease and temporarily took her mind off her many worries. As she stood outside on the veranda of Tarth, she felt the seabreeze hit her face and considered the direction it came from. <em>They have favorable winds. That should reduce their travel time by a couple of days.</em></p><p>Brienne helped Sansa with some additional preparations over the next three days, but Brienne knew she had to leave the island and make her way to King’s Landing. With a heavy heart, Brienne kissed her babies goodbye for what she prayed to the Seven wouldn’t be the last time.</p><p>Climbing atop Viserion, Brienne’s mind wandered to Jaime. By now they should be nearing Gulltown on the Bay of Crabs. Brienne missed Jaime fiercely and couldn’t wait to tell him how big the twins had grown. How many more hours they spent awake during the day and how eagerly they responded to Brienne’s smiles. How their little personalities were coming out even more.</p><p>Not certain if the memories of Jaime drove her decision or her military mind that needed to know where their forces were, but Brienne flew north. Her decision would prove to be what saved the living.</p><p>As Brienne passed over Dragonstone and toward Claw Isle, she saw ships ablaze in the distance and the Night King atop Rhaegal; the latter spewing down blue flames. <em>Gods no! </em> Brienne urged Viersion forward and engaged the other dragon. The dragons clawed at each other and snapped their jaws; aiming at the other’s long neck. Brienne unsheathed her sword and prepared to strike. She knew she couldn’t kill the Night King from her position, but her mark was Rhaegal. As the dragon’s neck came careening towards Viserion in a bid to bite its brother’s snout, Brienne stabbed the creature in the neck.</p><p>The valyrian steel sliced through the dead creature’s flesh and a shrill cry escaped the beast’s mouth. The dragon fell towards the sea below and sank instantly. Turning her attention back to the fleet, Brienne felt herself panic. <em>Jaime</em>. One-third of their fleet was ablaze and the other boats were actively trying to retrieve men from the sea. Jaime watched with bated breath as man after man was pulled from the ocean, gasping for air.</p><p>Then she saw him. Jaime was hauled over the railing of a ship by Tormund. He coughed and spluttered up water, rolling onto his side to gasp for air. As Brienne lowered Viserion to just above the ship sails, their eyes locked as Jaime slowly stood up. As they had done at White Harbor, a silent conversation passed between them. <em>I love you</em>.</p><p>Brienne followed the fleet the rest of the way to King’s Landing although it wasn’t until they were hours south of the attack that Brienne wandered what became of the Night King. <em>I thought Jon said they can’t swim. Or is it just the risen dead who can’t? Is the creature dead? Is it over?</em></p><p>Nearly a week later the ships docked in the capital. As Brienne climbed down from Viserion at a safe landing point, she rushed to the docks to find Jaime. Nearing the ships, Brienne observed the weary faces of soldiers disembarking. They had witnessed their comrades perish at White Harbor and then they nearly died themselves on the open seas during retreat. <em>I shouldn’t have left them. I should have followed the entire time.</em></p><p>Running down the pier and desperately searching for Jaime, she spotted him in the distance. As his eyes found hers, he broken into a sprint to reach her. They collided together and Brienne wrapped her arms around his neck; Jaime’s around her waist. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have left the ships. I went to Tarth to get supplies sent and word to the other houses.”</p><p>“Ssshhh. Brienne. You saved us. Its fine. You killed a fucking dragon Brienne.” Jaime cupped her cheek with his good hand and pulled back to look in her eyes. “A fucking dragon! You more than evened the odds.” Jaime kissed her lips and pulled her back into a firm embrace.</p><p>As men walked around them to heads towards the castle, many clapped her on the shoulder. Shouts of “Dragonslayer!” echoed throughout the pier as Jaime smirked and took her by the waist to walk towards the keep with her.</p><p>“I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been stuck on a boat with Tyrion and that brooding Jon Snow. Did you see the babes? Are they well? I hadn’t the strangest dream we had three babies. It was crazy.” Jaime chuckled and Brienne nervously laughed along with him. <em>Yes. Strange indeed.</em></p><p>“Jaime. The Night King. He hit the water with Rhaegal and I failed to watch if he surfaced. Does Bran know?” Jaime’s progress towards the castle slowed. He looked at her and sighed. “Lets go find Daenerys. We have much to discuss.”</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. A New Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The troops meet at king's landing and Jaime is tasked with developing a new plan.</p><p>Warning: Parts of this chapter are NSFW.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Unsurprisingly, Daenerys wished to call a war council as everyone began filtering into the keep form the ships. Jaime sighed at his inability to get a moment alone with his wife. He hadn’t had a proper conversation with her in near a fortnight between the preparations for battle at White Harbor, subsequent retreat, and the time nearly dying on the open seas. When the Night King attacked their fleet, Jaime believed himself a dead man. The flames cut quickly through their sails and deck, forcing all soldiers to jump into the water and pray for survival.</p><p>In that moment, all Jaime could think of was his family; Brienne and the twins. He thought of the twins’ little faces and burgeoning personalities. He thought of all he would miss out on in their lives; teaching them to ride, to fight, and to lead. He thought of Brienne. The true love of his life and the one person who loved him as he was; faults and all. Brienne who reminded him of the knight he longed to be as a boy. Brienne who challenged him when he was at his lowest. Brienne who drove him to leave behind the toxic woman he once thought his life. Brienne who gave him a family.</p><p>The Gods saw fit to bless him with another chance though. Of course, it was Brienne they sent to save him again. Yes, Jaime had saved her in the physical sense on multiple occasions, but it was Brienne who was always saving his soul. Now she was saving his life.</p><p>When he held her on the dock, he felt a relief like no other. Now just when he was about to get time with her, they were being pulled away again. Daenerys sat before everyone at the long table in the great hall at King’s Landing. The room was crammed with all the top military leaders from the kingdoms save those lost in the battle at White Harbor and subsequent attack on their fleet.  </p><p>Daenerys first received a report from Jon on the state of their fleet and the number of causalities at sea. It would have been far worse were it not for Brienne. There would be no one left to update Daenerys at the very table they now occupied. “And what of the Night King?”</p><p>As Daenerys’ voice lifted and echoed off the stone walls, it was Bran who spoke. “He is very much alive, although he is short one dragon.” Jaime would have felt relief at the words, but he knew the information Bran was about to deliver next.</p><p>“The Night King came ashore off the Bay of Crabs just south of the Vale of Arryn. He has added more than the dead to his army now. He has added knights. Hundreds of the most ferocious in the history of Westeros descended from and lead by the Falcon Knight, Ser Artys.  Unlike the dead we have faced thus far, these dead fight with military strategy. Much like the cunning used against the First Men, Ser Artys will lead his dead knights in similar fashion now. They had been laid to rest in crypts within the mountains of the Vale in similar fashion to the crypts of Winterell. They rise as more than bones.”</p><p>Jaime looked to Daenerys and watched as her face fell. Collecting herself and sighing heavily, Daenerys locked eyes with Jaime. “I suppose its time to see if a dead commander or our living one is more cunning. Ser Jaime, I’ll leave you to it then. You know this city better than anyone. You know war strategy better than anyone I’ve met. You have now faced the dead in the open field. Our fate is in your hands.” <em>Great. No pressure at all.</em></p><p>Jaime felt Brienne’s hand squeeze his right knee reassuringly. He took a deep breath and bowed his head to Daenerys. “I suppose I’ll need to think through some things then. Let me take the night and we can reconvene on the morrow. Unless of course Lord Bran has any other doom to share with us?”</p><p>Bran offered a small smirk. “I think you have more than enough to contend with for now. Do let me know if there is anything else I can do to lend a <em>hand</em>.” <em>Well played young Bran.</em> <em>I suppose I deserve that</em>. As everyone slowly left the hall, Jaime pulled Brienne along urgently towards the White Sword Tower. While the accommodations in the tower were known to be sparse, a little-known fact was the small library containing city plans and accounts of prior defense strategies at ground level below the rooms of the Kingsguard.</p><p>“And why do you need me for this? I’m not a military commander. I’m not a leader.” Brienne was exhausted both physically and emotionally, but Jaime seemed oblivious to her state. In his mind, Jaime was already running through military strategies and the city architecture; trying to find opportunities to mount their best chance of defense.</p><p>“No, you’re not, but you’ve had experience against the dead that I have not.” Brienne threw Jaime a questioning look to which he immediately replied. “You’ve seen them from the sky. You’ve engaged the Night King multiple times. You’ve also defeated a dragon which while less impactful to establishing a defense strategy is just impressive and I need a little optimism in the room.”</p><p>Brienne rolled her eyes, but Jaime only offered a small smile in return. “Besides, you owe me a conversation.” Brienne’s eyes widened at his words and she looked away. It was evident she wished to delay discussion surrounding whatever was bothering her of late, but Jaime couldn’t shake the thought it was something major that he needed to know about.</p><p>As they stepped through the doors to the small room at the base of the White Sword Tower that housed the documents Jaime sought, he shut the door and pulled Brienne into a searing kiss. It had been too long and he was aching for her. Jaime dropped kisses to her jaw and neck. “Brienne. I’ve missed you.”</p><p>Brienne’s fingers brushed through his hair and her right arm wrapped around his shoulders. “Shouldn’t you be concentrating on developing a strategy?” Jaime chuckled as his lips returned to her mouth. “I do have a plan of attack in mind.” Brienne rolled her eyes and snorted. “Gods that was awful.” Jaime smiled widely; mirth in his eyes. “But is it working?”</p><p>Brienne huffed in feigned annoyance, but Jaime didn’t let that deter him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and guided her backwards towards a table in the middle of the room. Jaime moved his left hand between them and began tugging at the laces of her breeches. With the laces loosened, Jaime slowly pushed Brienne’s smallclothes and breeches down before sliding his arms under her. Jaime lifted Brienne slightly and guided her back onto the table. “Jaime! Gods the table will break with me on it.”</p><p>Jaime smirked and guided Brienne to her back on the table before putting his head between her legs and using his tongue to bring her to her peak. Brienne’s hands grabbed at his hair as her body trembled under his lingering touch. Jaime worked his own laces loose and pushed down his breeches and smallclothes as he leaned over her body. Entering her slowly, Brienne gasped and moaned at the sensation. Jaime got the angle he wanted and began thrusting in and out at a steady pace.</p><p>Lifting Brienne’s tunic, Jaime’s hand wandered over her breast as he met her lips with his. Brienne’s legs wrapped around him tighter and her hand cupped his cheek before slowly lowering to his back. As he felt Brienne’s walls tighten around him, Jaime tried to hold off his own climax to bring her over the edge again. Brienne’s nails dug into his back and Jaime felt himself unable to hold off any longer.</p><p>With a few more thrusts, Brienne screamed his name as they came together with a series of frantic thrusts on Jaime’s part. Jaime spilled deep insider her and continued to play with her nipple as her contracting walls continued to ignite little sparks through his cock and body.</p><p>Breathlessly, Jaime pulled back to look in her eyes. “See. The table still stands. Maybe this is where we should make our final stand against the dead. It’s indestructible.” Brienne playfully swatted his arm as Jaime leaned in and pressed another kiss to her lips. Sliding out of her, Jaime pulled up his smallclothes and breeches as Brienne did the same.</p><p>Before setting to the task at hand, Jaime sat in a chair to the right of the table they put to the test. Jaime pulled Brienne onto his lap and slipped his arms around her. “Are you going to tell me what is going on? Its killing me.”</p><p>Brienne sighed and looked away. <em>Tell me wench. Let me shoulder the burden with you</em>. “It isn’t anything. Lets make the plans first. I promise I will tell you where my mind has been once these plans are made and we’ve had time to rests.” Jaime huffed and played with a lock of her hair which had fallen from behind her ear to her cheek. “You promised we would talk after the Battle at White Harbor.”</p><p>Brienne chuckled and looked into Jaime’s eyes. “I said no such thing. You demanded that we would talk.” Jaime leaned his head forward to her chest and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her. “We promised that we would tell each other everything.”</p><p>Brienne traced lazy circles on the back of his neck and hummed. “I never specified the language.” Jaime pulled his head back in mock horror. “How could you wench!? Don’t use your Targaryen, dragon-speaking powers against me.”</p><p>“Well, I can do what I like really. I’m the queen’s sister after all.” Jaime snorted and then the mirth left his eyes. “Alright. I will make these plans, then we will doublecheck the stability of the table, then we will sleep, and then you’ll tell me.”  Brienne barked a laugh and stood to move across the room.</p><p>“Fine. So, where do we begin.” Jaime pushed out of the chair and walked to a series of scrolls on the left side of a dusty shelf. Grabbing a couple of the scrolls, Jaime turned back to Brienne and raised them in his arms. “Here. We begin at the beginning. The earliest plans of King’s Landing.”</p><p>Hours later, Jaime stood back from the mess of unfurled scrolls and nodded as he replayed the strategy in his mind once more. Brienne had fallen asleep on a chair in the corner near an hour prior, but by that point Jaime knew what he wanted to base his strategy around. <em>This has to be it. Its our best chance.</em> Looking at Brienne in the chair, he sucked in a deep breath. <em>I need to protect her. To protect our family</em>.</p><p>Jaime grabbed a few scrolls alongside the parchment containing his own notes and drawings. Walking over to Brienne he roused her by tapping her chair with his foot. “Brienne. Wake up.”</p><p>Brienne’s eyes fluttered open and she looked around in a slightly disoriented state. “Sorry. Did I fall asleep?” Jaime chuckled and met her sleep heavy eyes. “If the pool of drool under the chair is any indication, I would say so.” Brienne scoffed, but he caught her glance down at the floor to ensure his words were merely a jape.</p><p>Looking back to him, Brienne observed his full arms. “What is all that?” Jaime looked down at the mess of papers in his arms. “This is how we survive.”</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Preparing King's Landing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jaime presents his plan and finally gets that talk with Brienne.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For anyone following this story, I'm sorry for the slow updates. My two other fics have been consuming my time. Luckily with one now done, I can wrap this up. I am not good at heavy battle fics (planning and the fighting itself) so this one has been a struggle. I've had the entire thing outlined for quite some time, so it is just a matter of the details coming together and (hopefully making sense). There are likely 2-3 more chapters after this one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaime opened the maps and his drawing in the war council, pushing the papers around the table to arrange them properly. Brienne looked down at the scrolls as everyone huddled close. Brienne turned to look at Jaime. He took a deep breath as he began to provide the details of his plan to the council and Daenerys.</p><p>“King’s landing has three hills within the city. Here where the castle is; Aegon’s Hill.  At the dragon pit; Rhaeny’s Hill. Near where the Sept of Baelor once stood; Visnya’s Hill. We’ll need to take advantage of all three to lure the dead in. The battlements won’t be safe to position men on for long. If the dead can so easily take down the Wall, the outer gates of the city will look like a child’s toy to them.”</p><p>Brienne sucked in a breath. She had not even considered that as her first instinct was to man the battlements with archers as they had at White Harbor. Of course in that battle, their lines were outside the castle.</p><p>“We know the Night King is following Bran, so we’ll need to position him in an area where we can collect him from quickly when the time arrives The Dragon Pit is the best place to afford Drogon the space to land and take off. Daenerys, you’ll be stationed with Bran and a contingent of men at the Pit. Jon, you’ll lead that contingent to keep Bran safe. How many men could Drogon evacuate on his back?”</p><p>Daenerys considered the question before looking to Jaime. “He is the largest, but I would say no more than ten to be safe.” Jaime nodded in understanding as Bran sat silently in the corner. “Very well. So, with Jon and Bran that gives you eight more. Jon, you’ll need to select some of our best to protect him. The fighters should have a range of skills. I would recommend Addam, Grey Worm, Tormund, Bronn, and two of Tarth’s best archers. Do you have another two proficient with the sword?”</p><p>Jon nodded. “Aye. I know just the men. Wouldn’t it be best to have all ground fighters though? Why two archers?” Jaime sighed. “Not everything coming at you will be human sized. It wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of archers. We can’t risk Drogon so he shouldn’t be stationary on the ground. We also can’t use his dragon fire from the skies which I’ll get to.”</p><p>Jon nodded and looked back to the map. “I have a fighter from the vale and one from the north who are great with the sword.” Brienne sucked in a breath and looked to Jaime. “Jon should take Ser Endrew and Ser Bryn. They’re the best archers we have.”</p><p>Jaime nodded solemnly. Brienne and Jaime knew that selecting anyone for these missions could be a death sentence. They had come to know the two Tarth archers quite well. They were good men with young families of their own. Bryn reminded Brienne so much of Galladon that it hurt at times.</p><p>Turning back to the table, Brienne looked down at the maps as Jaime continued. “Brienne, you will be at the site of old Sept. According to Bran, the dead march closest to the King’s Road, so they will likely enter the city from the Gate of the Gods. Visnya’s Hill is closest to the gate, so the dead wont’ have much time to react when you moved to light the trenches we’ll have built outside the city gates. You’ll need to keep Viserion on the ground laying on the rubble to await a signal from the Keep when the dead are inside. The Vale knights are cunning and if they have returned to life with that cunning, we need to take a similar approach.”</p><p>Jaime then pointed to the city walls. “We can start the battle with men atop the battlements. Archers from Tarth and the Iron Islands are the best we have. They’ll fire flaming arrows at the incoming dead. We should still have enough arrows with dragon glass tips to ensure the creatures fall upon impact, but the flame will ensure they won’t rise again. Once the dead get closer, the archers will need to retreat.”</p><p>Jaime pointed next to his drawing. “We’ll need trenches lining the entire expanse of the city walls. We will fill it with wildfire to set ablaze once the dead are inside. This will ensure the dead can’t escape once in the city. Brienne will receive a signal to take flight on Viserion with the dead inside. From there, she will light the trench. Wildfire is quite volatile, so all she need do is light one section of it and the rest should immediately catch around the city.”</p><p>Jaime’s hand moved back towards the castle. “We will position a small group of men here at the keep. They will oversee sending signals throughout the battle to the Pit, the harbor, Brienne, and the troops stationed throughout the city. Ser Davos will lead the group and ultimately oversee the retreat to the harbor. He knows the Blackwater better than anyone and will have the best view from the keep. Tyrion will be with him. Tyrion, you’ll overseeing the signals with Davos. We will use torch signals to men stationed at the bells. Each signal will have an associated number of bell tolls.”</p><p>Dragging his finger down to the Muddy Gates, Jaime looked to Yara. “Yara, you will lead our combined fleets. Davos will send you the signal when the retreat for the harbor has sounded. One bell toll means the archers are retreating. Two bell tolls means the ground troops are retreating. You will need to keep several mostly empty ships at the harbor to await the roughly 2,000 troops in the city; the archers atop the battlements and the ground forces inside. The rest of your ships will be in the bay. Should the dead arrive and spread around the castle rather then immediately head for the first access point, we’ll need you positioned to the northeast to fire on them from the ships.”</p><p>Yara nodded in understanding as Jaime continued the plan. “Of our 2,000 men in the city, just more than half will be stationed atop the battlements at the start of the battle. The other 700 will be manning trebuchets from inside. The trebuchets will be built and stationed atop the hills in the city. I’ll lead the men at Visnya’s Hill, Ser Edwin will lead the men at the base of Aaegon’s Hill, and Ser Royce at Rhaeny’s Hill. We’ll hit the dead from all angles once they are inside. The trebuchets will need protective coating or material to keep the wood from catching. I want to hit the dead with wildfire barrels from the trebuchets.”</p><p>Brienne felt her breathing catch at the thought of firing lit barrels of wildfire at the dead. This would be very dangers for the men at the trebuchets to handle, even if the plan was sound. Looking around the table, everyone seemed to sense the weight of the words.</p><p>Jaime inhaled deeply. “Once we have exhausted the barrels assigned to the trebuchets and it becomes too dangerous for the troops to stay in the city, they’ll need to follow the archers retreat to the ships. When the Night King’s army is distracted in either flames or their progress towards Bran, we’ll need Drogon to get that group out of the city. From the muddy gates, we can light the wildfire that will be placed throughout the city tunnels.”</p><p>Jaime moved another map the center; a map of the city tunnel system. “Before the battel begins, we’ll need to ensure the wildfire is positioned throughout the tunnels. We’ll need to engulf the entire city in flames with the dead inside. This is why we can’t use the dragons in the city. Their fiery breath could ignite the wildfire caches below before we are ready for it to go up.”</p><p>Jaime looked to Brienne and Daenerys. “No dragon fire in the city while we have our people in there.” They both nodded in understanding and Brienne watched as Daenerys’ face fell at realization that King’s Landing would need to be destroyed to save humanity.</p><p>Jaime breathed in deeply and continued “I know we are not using all of our forces in this battle, but we need all the men to start preparing the trenches and trebuchets immediately if we are stand a chance. Who knows… by keeping this many men from the battle and on the ships, we may be able to take a third pass at the dead from Dorne should this fail. ”</p><p>Brienne considered Jaime’s plan. It was sound and their best chance. She hoped it would be enough. A few questions were asked around the table, but Jaime had sound answers and everyone seemed satisfied with the approach. As the war council concluded, Jaime grabbed Brienne’s wrist and gave her a look that left little doubt what he wanted to discuss.</p><p>As they turned to leave, Daenerys called out to him. “Ser Jaime.” Jaime looked back as the room thinned out. Daenerys gave a small smile and nodded. “Thank you. This is truly the best we can do and if we fall, it isn’t on account of poor planning.”</p><p>Making their way towards their assigned room, Jaime pulled Brienne inside and shut the door. “So you owe me a talk.” Brienne huffed and walked towards the table to pour some water from the jug that had been left out. “It’s nothing Jaime, truly.”</p><p>Jaime came up behind her and placed his arms around her waist. “You think I don’t know you well enough to see when something is off.” Brienne snorted and looked out the balcony. “Well one thing off could be the hoard of dead men marching to kill us all. Another could be that our babes are on an island away from us and we may never see them again.”</p><p>Turning in his arms, Brienne saw the worry and hurt there. Brienne’s mind conjured images of facing the Night King and nearly dying. Images of the Night King nearly killing Jaime on the attack at sea. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her eyes to the floor. “Another thing could be that my moon blood is late and I feel… different.”</p><p>Brienne felt Jaime stiffen at her words. Raising her eyes to him, she watched as Jaime swallowed thickly and his eyes looked panicked. “You can’t fight in this battle.” <em>I knew it! I knew he would do this!</em> Brienne took a steadying breath before responding. “I will not sit by idly while everyone else fights and risks their lives! It is too early to even confirm if my suspicions are true.”</p><p>Jaime shook his head as though trying to will away her words. “No. No. I can’t have it Brienne. I can’t have you out there if you’re with child.” Brienne grabbed Jaime’s face with her hand and stump. “I told you the truth. Don’t do this to me! I will fight. If we lose, what difference would it make if I live and the rest of humanity is lost.”</p><p>Jaime backed up abruptly and started rubbing his face with his good hand. “I’m putting you on a ship to Tarth. The dead can’t swim. The twins need you. If you’re with child, that babe needs you to stay safe.”</p><p>Brienne wanted to scream, but she knew that when Jaime got like this it was no use. “I will not. I will not run from this fight. I could never look our babes in the face again if we lose this war and I left their father and all of humanity behind. You can’t stop me. You promised… no more separating.”</p><p>Jaime looked at her incredulous. “You have to Brienne! You need to stay alive for our family.” Brienne felt herself losing control of her emotions as she stared at him in disbelief. “It won’t be a family if you’re dead!”</p><p>Jaime closed the space between them and pulled Brienne into a firm embrace. “Please Brienne. Please for once just listen to me.” Brienne tucked her face into his neck and breathed in deeply; the smell of Jaime filling her senses. “Or you could try listening to me. I won’t leave you. I won’t leave our forces. I am fighting for our family.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Dead Arrive</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After preparing the capital, the dead arrive. Things don't go entirely as planned.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Near a moon’s turn passed before the lookouts spotted the dead just outside the capital. In that time, the living had managed to prepare the length of the trench outside the city gates and twelve trebuchets. The trebuchets were distributed amongst the three hills as Jaime commanded.</p><p>Also within the moon’s turn, Brienne’s fatigue and nausea intensified. When at last she listened to Jaime and was seen by the maester, their worries were confirmed. She was pregnant. They had argued for days over her involvement in this final battle with the dead, but Brienne was stubborn as ever.</p><p>Now she sat atop Viserion as Jaime looked up at her from his position near one of the trebuchets. Jaime felt a sense of dread pool in the pit of his stomach. He looked to the dark skies above and closed his eyes; taking in the silence from within the city. Only the sound of flickering flames from the torches along the city walls and buildings emitted sound. A gust of wind blew through the city and brushed back the ends of Jaime’s hair from his forehead.  </p><p>Looking to the wall, he watched as rows or archers stood in position. The torches held by the runners prepared to light the archers’ arrows. Those very arrows would bring down a flurry of fire and dragon glass upon the hoards of dead. Jaime’s mind briefly flashed back to his younger self awaiting an attack from the same city gates; his father leading the West against Aerys.</p><p><em>Burn them all. Burn them all</em>. Jaime considered the irony of how that was his only wish for King’s Landing today. Looking back to Brienne, he considered his wife sitting atop a dragon. Brienne of Tarth. <em>My enemy and captor. My fellow captive. My friend. My love. My wife. My everything.</em> As if hearing his thoughts, Brienne turned to look at him.</p><p>They both donned the same expression. Trepidation. “I love you.” Jaime mouthed the words to Brienne, and she smiled reassuringly before mouthing the same words back to him. Then Jaime heard the calls from the battlements. “Nock!”</p><p>Jaime watched as the runners set each arrow ablaze and the archers from Tarth, the Iron Islands, and other soldiers proficient in the bow readied. The light from the flames lit up the top of the battlements as the sun would at sunrise. “Fire!”</p><p>The arrows streaked through the night sky like shooting stars. Jaime’s thoughts went to his Evenstar and future Evenstars. <em>Gods. Keep Brienne safe. Keep my children safe.</em> The archers reloaded and more flames soared through the night sky. Jaime lost rack of how many times the archers heard the cries to “nock” and “fire” before he saw the retreat begin as they had planned.</p><p>The archers ran from the battlements and towards the Mud Gates. As they left the battlements, an eerie silence fell over the city again. The silence did not last for long as a flurry of dead men began pouring through the gates as expected. Even from their distance at Visenya’s Hill, the closest hill to the gates the dead now poured through, Jaime could make out the snarling faces of the Night King’s forces. Images of White Harbor came rushing back to him. Jaime turned to his flank and gave the order to load the trebuchets.</p><p>They had rehearsed this attack several times before this night, but with empty barrels. The army had worked with maesters and alchemists to determine the best approach. They drove a small hole into the side of each barrel once loaded in the trebuchet and threaded parchment through it. They would light the parchment and launch it as the makeshift wick burned down to light the wildfire within.</p><p>The men moved quickly at his command and prepared for his signal to light the parchment and fire the barrels. “Hold!” Jaime looked ahead to see the dead coming straight for them. “Light!” The torch bearers moved to position and began to light the parchment. <em>Come on you fuckers. Hold. Hold. Steady</em>. “Fire!” At Jaime’s command, the barrels launched from their four trebuchets and went hurtling towards the dead’s ranks.</p><p>The impact was catastrophic. Jaime was blown over by the impact despite the far distance at which the barrels hit the mass of dead men. Standing up from the ground to which he had fallen at the unexpectedly powerful impact, Jaime smiled as he saw scores of dead ablaze. The lines of dead men made a natural barrier to those behind them. As the dead would try to run forward through their comrades, they would catch ablaze themselves.</p><p>The process continued and soon, Jaime observed barrels flying from the trebuchets in the direction from Rhaenys’ Hill. Then Jaime heard the signal for Brienne to take flight. <em>All the dead are inside</em>. Jaime’s head snapped to Brienne as she took off into the night sky. Mere moments later, the trenches outside the city gate were ablaze. The flames shot up into the night sky and turned night to day. The wildfire burning was relentless.</p><p>As discussed, Brienne remained in the skies, searching in the distance for signs of any second waves of dead men who had not already entered the city. She would not bring down dragon fire in the capital for fear of igniting the wildfire stores under the city in the tunnels.</p><p>The dead slowly encroached their space and Jaime heard the next signal. The signal for the retreat of his flank which was closest to the gates. In the distance, Jaime watched in horror as giants swiped at buildings in anger as their clothing caught fire. Ice spiders shrieked as they fell to the ground and succumbed to the flames. Jaime urged his men out as they fired off the last rounds of wildfire barrels into the hoards of dead men.</p><p>As the last of his men retreated, Jaime ran through the city towards the flank nearest the castle; Aegon’s Hill. There he began urging the men to prepare for the next wave of dead men. <em>It’s working! The dead can’t win this!</em> To his right, the flank at Rhaenys’ Hill continued firing until they had exhausted their barrels. When barrels stopped flying, their retreat to the boats began.</p><p>Jaime looked to the sky to see where Brienne was. He was happy to see her safe in the distance, still scouting for additional forces. Abruptly, she veered to the right on Viserion. Then Jaime saw it. The spear that nearly took her down and went hurtling into the air. <em>Gods Brienne! Get out of there!</em> The angle of the spear confirmed that the Night King was in the city.</p><p>“Ser Jaime! The right flank!” Jaime’s focus on Brienne was broken by one of the men screaming at him. Jaime looked to his right and saw a giant swiping violently at a trebuchet. The weapon went hurtling into the air and crashing into a building; splintering on impact. The dead had made it to their first line of defense at Rhaenys’ Hill. <em>Fuck!</em> Jaime looked back to his men. “Keep firing! Do no await my command. Aim for the giants!”</p><p>In the distance, Jaime saw the outline of several more giants nearing Rhaenys’ Hill. Grabbing one of the men, he pointed ahead and told him to hold fire at his trebuchet until the giants came into range. With a nod, the man ran off.</p><p>As expected, their flank was hardly the target as it was too far from the Dragon Pit and Bran. The dead veered northeast towards the Dragon Pit. The army of the dead was so vast that he still could not make out the location of the Night King, his generals, nor the Knights of the Vale.</p><p>The next bell rung out indicating all remaining ground forces needed to retreat for the boats. Jaime prayed to the seven that this worked. He cast a final look towards the Dragon Pit knowing the group awaiting the arrival of the dead was readying for an onslaught before being removed from the city on Drogon. Directing his men to the Mud Gate, Jaime took one last look into the night sky to see Brienne. She was making her way towards the Dragon Pit. <em>What is she doing!? She was to retreat with us.</em></p><p>Huffing in irritation, Jaime followed the last of the men to the boats. Upon arrival at the harbor, he directed everyone to the ships and ensured each was at capacity before they pulled back from shore. One ship was to stay behind to light the wildfire. Jaime would eventually leave from there once Davos and Tyrion made their way to the port.</p><p>Jaime looked up at the castle and saw the flames from the balcony where he knew Tyrion and Davos stood. <em>What are they waiting for?</em> Suddenly, Jaime heard the sound of a dragon’s cry. It was a not a battle cry, but a wounded cry. Jaime shouted at one of the commanders to take watch as he ran to the castle to retrieve Tyrion and Davos. Jaime’s mind was running through the various reasons they hadn’t left. <em>What is going on? What was the dragon crying out for?</em></p><p>Jaime ran into the tunnel system that he knew would take him directly into the keep. Making his way through the winding passages, Jaime felt his heart accelerate. <em>Please don’t let that dragon cry have been Viserion.</em> Charging up the steps towards the room he knew Davos and Tyrion to be in, Jaime began screaming to them.</p><p>“Jaime? What are you doing here!?” Tyrion met Jaime at the door. Doubling over to catch his breath, Jaime put a hand to Tyrion’s shoulder. “You sounded the last retreat but didn’t retreat yourselves. Then I heard the dragon. What is happening?”</p><p>Tyrion’s face dropped at the words. “Drogon took a spear to the body. He barely flew off in time, but we can’t see him.” Jaime felt his heart stop. “What!? What of the group at the Dragon Pit!?”</p><p>Tyrion turned to look at Davos who attention was fixed towards the direction of Rhaenys’ Hill. Jaime watched as his brother’s face fell. “We can’t see from this vantage point. We didn’t want to set the city ablaze without seeing that the group made it to safety.”</p><p>“There! Brienne has them!” Davos was screaming from the balcony and pointing in the distance. Jaime pushed passed Tyrion to where Davos stood and followed his eyeline. In the distance, he saw Viserion pulling into the night sky. As the dragon circled around the city towards the keep, Davos waved his torch in the air and caught the attention of the riders.</p><p>Sweeping by them on the balcony as if in slow motion, Jaime watched as the small group protecting Bran flew by. Their faces a story of unspeakable horror. Their bodies riddled with puncture wounds and head injuries that would fell the average man. Commanding Viserion towards the ship was Daenerys. A look of fear and sadness on her face.</p><p>
  <em>Where is Jon? Where is Brienne!?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. The Final Confrontation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brienne takes in the battle and springs into action.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Brienne circled the skies outside the city walls; keeping an eye out for hidden dead men seeking to make a surprise attack. Looking back towards the capital, she saw the trebuchets firing on the army of dead men. <em>Thank the Gods. Jaime’s plan is working! Their numbers are rapidly dwindling</em>. Brienne prayed the wildfire barrels targeting the dead did not ignite the caches below the city in the tunnel system.</p><p>Jaime had the wildfire in the tunnels strategically placed away from the city center where the trebuchets were set to hit their targets, but it was unclear to the living how far the heat from above ground could impact the wildfire below. The wildfire in the tunnel system had been concentrated near the Dragon Pit and around the perimeter of city walls given the plan had been to draw the dead that direction anyway.  In the distance, Brienne could see torch lights where she knew the Dragon Pit to be.</p><p>As she considered elements of their plan yet to be deployed, her thoughts were disrupted by an incoming threat. <em>A spear</em>! Brienne commanded Viserion dodge quickly left as a spear went breezing by his wing and Brienne’s head. Brienne looked down to see the Night King glaring at her from just inside the city walls.</p><p>Directing the dragon out of reach, she sighed with relief that the entirety of his forces must be in the city if he was already within the walls at the rear of the army. As Brienne circled back around, she saw the Night King’s eyes remain fixed on her. He stood with another spear in hand, an ominous smile on his face.</p><p>From the corner of her eye, Brienne saw movement in the distance. Squinting into the night, Brienne observed rows of dead knights and the Night King’s generals charging toward the Dragon Gate at the northeast of the city. <em>Fuck! They’re going to attack from the rear of the Pit!</em> Brienne recalled the warning given by Jon concerning the formidable generals leading the Night King’s dead hordes. Like the Night King, Jon said they were near impossible to defeat.</p><p>Brienne considered that they only had nine fighters guarding Bran in the Dragon Pit. Brienne urged Viserion towards the Dragon Gate and tried to meet the newly arriving forces head on. From what she could estimate, there were roughly three hundred fully armored dead knights of the Vale leading the charge with a dozen of the Night King’s general close behind.  Brienne’s mind raced back to the tales of Ser Artys and his well-executed deception at the Battle of Seven Stars.</p><p>Making haste towards the mounted knights, Viserion neared the targets and at Brienne’s command, spewed fire down onto the rows of knights. The riders fell instantly from their dead mounts as the flames consumed them. Brienne finished her first pass and turned Viserion around to trace another line of fire through the army now at the Dragon Gate.</p><p>With another pass through, she made a sizable dent in the rows of men. Nearly all the knights were aflame, and Brienne estimated that one more pass would finish them. On her third pass through, Brienne reached the Night King’s generals and remaining knights. Fire consumed the ground below and Brienne circle back around.</p><p>Brienne’s eyes widened in shock as she observed the generals staring back at her through the flames. <em>What? How!?</em> They continued through the gate unphased as though nothing but a gust of wind had blown through. Brienne took off towards the Dragon Pit. <em>I need to warn them!</em></p><p>Brienne lowered atop the Dragon Pit walls and screamed down to Daenerys and the men from atop Viserion. “The Night King’s generals have breached the rear gate! Fire won’t destroy them! We need to get Bran out now!” As she spoke, a spear came darting through the sky; just missing her. <em>Seven hells!</em></p><p>In the distance, Brienne could see the generals making their way rapidly towards the pit. As if sensing the threat against his brother, Drogon rose abruptly into the air before Viserion. Before Daenerys could command Drogon down, another spear hurtled through the air and hit the dragon dead on. A shrill cry filled the air and Daenerys screamed for Drogon to retreat. The dragon took off and Brienne realized that she would now need to get the group out on Viserion.</p><p>Attempting to land the animal, more spears came flying from the direction of the generals and Brienne had to pull the great beast back into the night sky to avoid the assault. Daenerys screamed for Brienne to get him out of the city gates, but Brienne couldn’t leave them. She couldn’t fail them.</p><p>Circling back around, Brienne watched in horror as the generals began engaging their group of nine fighters, Daenerys, and Bran. Daenerys stood in front of Bran with a dragon glass dagger in hand. Jon, Addam, Grey Worm, Tormund, Bronn, Endrew, Bryn, and two northern soldiers stood their ground against the generals. Brienne thanked any Gods listening that Jaime had instructed Jon to keep their finest warriors with his group.</p><p>The group was taking a pummeling. The generals were stronger than Brienne expected. In the distance, Brienne saw the Night King approaching from the city center with a small group of remaining dead. <em>Shit! They need to get Bran out now!</em> Looking back down at the group, Brienne observed Jon, Addam, Grey Worm, and Tormund fell the generals they engaged.</p><p>As the generals fell at their hands, a sizeable portion of the dead marching behind the Night King fell. <em>The generals. The wights they turned are falling as Jon said</em>. Turning back to the group below, one of the northern soldiers and Bryn were defeated by the generals they faced. Brienne gasped as Bryn’s head went flying from his shoulders. <em>No!</em></p><p>Moving to the general who down Bryn, Addam and Grey Worm quickly ended the creature. Looking back to the approaching Night King, Brienne saw the numbers dwindling behind him. Brienne turned back in time to see Bronn take an ice spear to his side and a blow to his head from the general he faced, but Jon was there to aid him and killed the general.</p><p>The remaining living quickly worked in pairs to fell the remaining generals, but they took severe injuries in the process. The only light of hope came from the image of the Night King nearly alone walking down the path to the pit.</p><p>Brienne commanded Viserion down. She screamed at the men to get on the dragon. They moved to her and Tormund grabbed Bran. Sliding down from Viserion, Brienne yelled at Daenerys to lead the group to safety.</p><p>As Daenerys, Tormund, Bran, Addam, Grey Worm, Endrew, Bronn, and the remaining northern soldier climbed atop Viserion, Daenerys looked down to Brienne. “Brienne! Lets go!” Brienne’s eyes moved to Jon who stood awaiting the Night King. Looking back to the group atop the dragon, the men were badly wounded. Not a single soldier in the group capable of helping at this point. “I need to help Jon! Get them out! Now!”</p><p>Daenerys moved to protest, but a spear from the Night King came hurtling at them. The spear went through the chests of Grey worm and Tormund locking them together atop the dragon. Blood poured from their mouths as life left their bodies. In panic, Daenerys commanded Viserion into the night sky.</p><p>Brienne unsheathed Oathkeeper from her hip and ran to stand beside Jon. Jon looked at her wide eyed. “Brienne! What are you doing!? You should have left.” Brienne’s eyes looked to Jon; matching fear in their eyes. “I won’t leave you. I won’t run from this fight.”</p><p>Jon and Brienne looked forward as the Night King came to stand before them. The creature reached for his weapon and the prior battle with the Night King came back to Brienne. <em>Gods. Jon and I are to join his ranks soon. Start his army anew.</em></p><p>Brienne’s mind went to Jaime as her eyes locked on an eerie shade of blue staring back at her and Jon. <em>I will die knowing I am loved. To someone, I am beautiful. To someone, I am everything. I will die taking this creature with me. For Jaime. For our babes. For the living.</em></p><p>“Jon. We need to attack from different angles. I’ll keep him distracted. You kill him when his back is turned.” Jon continued looking ahead but gritted his teeth and spoke to her as the Night King began to walk forward. “No. I’ll distract him. I can block his blows better than you. You have one hand. Make your strike true.”</p><p>“All the more reason for me to distract him! We can’t lose you or hope is gone. I can’t beat him in single combat.” Brienne began to move left as Jon moved right. <em>I need to swing first so Jon can attack from behind unseen. </em></p><p>Lunging at the Night King, Brienne raised her sword as Jon screamed at her to stand back. The Night King blocked her sword away as though it was a babe swiping its hand out errantly. A smirk spread across the Night King’s face as Brienne swung again. From behind the creature, Jon moved ahead rapidly. The Night King blocked the blow without bothering to turn towards Jon.</p><p>For what felt like an eternity, Brienne and Jon ran circles around the creature and made little progress getting to the Night King. It seemed to Brienne that he was merely toying with them. <em>How does he anticipate the blow?</em> Considering the creature, Brienne saw an opening and struck right, but the Night King deflected it without turning to acknowledge her. <em>Can he read my mind?</em></p><p>An idea hit Brienne. She thought back to her lessons on Tarth with Ser Goodwin.<em> Become the sword. Don’t think. Close out your mind. Just be in the moment.</em> Brienne shut down her mind as she would often do during her drills. As she settled into stance and focused on her breathing rather than her strategy, the Night King kicked Jon hard in the stomach and rounded on her. A curious look on his face.</p><p>Jon was knocked backwards a great distance into the Dragon Pit wall; falling with a loud grunt of pain. The Night King stalked towards Brienne and raised his sword. Keeping her mind clear, Brienne stood in a defensive position and waited. She concentrated on the feel of Oathkeeper in her left hand. Her calloused hand gripping the hilt and feeling its weight. As she trained to do, she placed her right stump under her hand to steady the steel. Brienne looked into the Night King’s eyes and saw confusion.</p><p>As he swung down aggressively, her body reacted. A parry and a strike. Her sword sliced across his armor but did not penetrate. The Night King cocked his head curiously as Brienne backed up slightly keeping her eyes fixed on him.</p><p> Another series of powerful, aggressive swings from the Night King had Brienne reeling, but she dodged and parried before rolling to her side and slicing across his shin. <em>Got him!</em> Rising to her feet and positioning her blade in front of her, Brienne was shocked to see the man still standing with no acknowledgement of pain at the laceration. <em>The valyrian steel. That should have done it</em>.</p><p>An angry snarl spread across the creature’s face and Brienne began backing up again. She walked backwards now nearing where Jon had fallen. “Brienne. Brienne what happened?” Brienne quickly glanced to Jon before returning her focus to the Night King.</p><p>Jon was holding his head and trying to heft Longclaw in his hands. Brienne yelled back to him without breaking her attention from the Night King. “The valyrian steel didn’t destroy him!” Jon stood beside her and gasped.</p><p>“Seven hells. Nothing works. No fire. No steel.” Jon’s words struck something in Brienne. Dragonglass. “Jon. We need dragonglass.” As the Night King raised his sword and swung down on them, Brienne tried to focus on clearing her mind again. Letting her body react to the threat instead of her mind. Jon ducked out of the way and swung wildly at his back, but again the Night King deflected without turning.</p><p>“Jon! Stop thinking! Shut down your mind. You need to…” Before Brienne could finish her sentence, the Night King swung his free hand around and smashed it into her mouth. The power of his blow left Brienne dizzy and feeling as though her entire jaw was detached. She fell to the ground and looked up to see the creature raise his arms to end her.</p><p>On instinct, Brienne raised her stump to shield her. As she turned her head to the left and prepared for the killing blow, she saw it. Daenerys’ dagger just feet away where Bran had been positioned previously. As the Night King prepared to swing down, his attention was distracted by Jon whose blade came hurtling down towards him. The Night King met Jon and blocked the blow.</p><p>Brienne scrambled to the dagger, but a searing pain ripped through her calf. Turning her head, the Night King had shoved his spear into her lower leg, effectively locking her in place to the ground. Jon cut across the Night King’s back, but still the creature barely reacted. Rounding on Jon, he grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.</p><p>Jon gasped for air and his eyes widened in panic. In the distance, Brienne saw something moving fast towards them. <em>Viserion!</em> Atop Viserion was Daenerys and Jaime. Viserion landed just behind Brienne and Jaime jumped down. Brienne desperately tried to remove the spear, but the Night King had driven the spear far enough into the earth that Brienne’s left arm lacked the strength to remove it.</p><p>Jon fell to the ground as the Night King’s attention locked on Jaime. Taking Jon’s sword, the Night King stalked towards Jaime with Longclaw in hand. Jon moved to Brienne and helped remove the spear from her leg. As Jon yanked the spear out, he charged at the Night King while Brienne scrambled towards the dagger.</p><p>The Night King spun around in time to catch the spear in Jon’s hands. Breaking it in half, the Night King took the spear and rammed it into Jon’s gut. “No!” Jaime swung hard at the Night King, but the creature dodged easily and swung hard at Jaime; knocking him to the ground. Picking up Jon’s sword once more, the Night King stood over Jaime and swung down.</p><p>Jaime blocked the blow and rolled left, but the Night King was right back on top of him raising Longclaw. Brienne kept her eyes fixed on Jaime while limping hurriedly towards him. <em>Ser Goodwin’s voice echoed in her head “Clear your mind” and mingled with Jaime’s voice “Go away inside”</em>.</p><p>Brienne hardly noticed the strange look on Jaime’s face as his eyes darted from her to the Night King. The Night King’s sword began swinging down towards Jaime. A moment before impact with Jaime, he shattered into a thousand pieces as Brienne drove the dagger into his back.</p><p>The momentum of her swung and the lack of strength in her calf sent Brienne falling forward and through the scattering shards of ice. She fell on top of Jaime who caught her and dropped Widow’s Wail just in time to keep from impaling her.</p><p>Jaime wrapped his arms tightly around Brienne as she frantically scanned the area for more threats. “It’s alright Brienne! You did it! You ended it!” Slowly coming back to her mind, Brienne’s eyes locked on Jaime. Her eyes suddenly taking in recognition of everything around her. “Jaime. Is it over?”</p><p>Jaime grabbed her cheek with his left hand. “Are you alright? Where did you go there?” Brienne’s eyes were still wide in shock from the battle that just ended moments prior. “Away. I went away inside. To stop him.” Jaime’s eyes clouded with tears as he pulled her to his chest.</p><p>From behind them, Brienne heard Daenerys sob. “Jon! Jon! Can you hear me!?” Brienne and Jaime broke their embrace and moved to Jon. Blood was pouring from his gut and mouth as the spear remained lodged in place.  </p><p>Jon’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as Daenerys, Jaime, and Jon crowded around him; soothing him as the Stranger took him.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm so sorry Jon fans. I hated doing it... truly.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The living come together to celebrate.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaime sat by Brienne’s bedside as she slept. He replayed the words from the maester in his mind. “She may never walk without a limp, but if we can keep infection from setting in, she should live. We shouldn’t need to take the leg below the knee.” Jaime’s stomach twisted at the thought, but he would do anything to keep her alive. He would dread the potential of that conversation though. ‘Hey love. While you were unconscious, we removed another limb. On the bright side, it was your left leg so that will at least balance you out.’</p><p>The maester had given Brienne some milk of the poppy before applying the stitches to her calf and noted she could be asleep for hours or a day; no real way of knowing how her body would response to the dosage. For hours Jaime sat in a chair with his head laying against Brienne’s left leg arm. He traced small patters on her hand and thanked all the gods that she was still alive. That the dead were defeated. Then he felt her fingers twitch.</p><p>Looking up hopefully, Jaime watched as Brienne’s eyes fluttered open. The most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. As their eyes met, Jaime moved to the bed and pulled her into a tight embrace. Tears began streaming down his face.</p><p>“Thank the Gods! You’re alright.” Jaime pulled back and pressed a deep kiss to Brienne’s lips. His left hand moved first to her cheek and then to her hair as he dropped his forehead to hers. “I thought I lost you. Daenerys flew by on Viserion and you weren’t there.” Jaime felt Brienne’s hand come to rest on his cheek. A smile spread across her face. “You should know I’m too stubborn to die off that easily.”</p><p>Jaime chuckled as the tears continued to fall from his face. “Seven hells woman. What happened!?” Brienne recounted what happened. How she circled back to the dead knights of the vale and generals. How she watched the group face off with the creatures. How she realized the Night King could somehow anticipate her blows.</p><p>Jaime was in awe of her. She outsmarted death itself and beat it back single-handedly. He chuckled at his pun and spoke to her. “You know, there are far less drastic ways to surpass your kin, Ser Duncan the Tall, as the greatest knight to have ever lived.” Brienne chuckled at his words. “I’m not a knight Jaime. I just wanted to live. Same as all who fought.”</p><p>Brienne’s face fell slightly. “Jon. He’s dead?” Jaime nodded solemnly as Brienne took a deep breath. “The others at the Dragon Pit? I saw Grey Worm and Tormund die. What of the others?” Jaime inhaled sharply and looked into her eyes. “Badly injured, but everyone else is alive less that one northern soldier and Ser Bryn.”</p><p>At the mention of Ser Bryn, both Jaime and Brienne closed their eyes to collect themselves. He was a good man. <em>Now I need to tell his wife and children that he died protecting all of mankind</em>. “We need to honor him properly on Tarth.” Brienne’s voice cut through Jaime’s thoughts. “Give him a proper funeral and fund his wife’s expenses for the rest of her days.”</p><p>Jaime nodded in agreement. <em>This is why she is the best Tarth could ever wish for in a ruler. She is just and compassionate</em>.  Brienne’s eyes suddenly widened. “The baby! Jaime is the baby alright?” Brienne’s hand flitted to her stomach; a whisper of a bump given how early on it was. Placing his hand over hers, Jaime leaned down and kissed her lips. “The maester saw no cause for alarm. It didn’t appear you took any hits to the abdomen. No bruising or lacerations.”</p><p>Jaime watched as her mind worked; likely replaying the battle in her mind. Relief flood her features as she sunk back further into the pillow. “No. I took no hits there. Only the leg and jaw.” Brienne’s hand went to her jaw and Jaime huffed a small laugh. “Yes, currently quite black and blue. He said it might be tough to eat for a bit. Recommended you stick to soups and fish.”</p><p>Brienne snorted. “Well given our limitations in cutting meat, I don’t take issue with that.” Jaime stretched out on the bed next to her and tucked himself up against her side, placing a light kiss to her temple. “You did it Brienne. We would all be dead without you. I do believe you’re now showing off. Truly trying to outdo my gallant past efforts in saving you. First the ship and now this.”</p><p>Brienne chuckled and turned her head to face Jaime. “No, I still like your rescues best.” Jaime smirked at her. “Yes? Tell me more. Is the best part the rescue itself or this handsome face coming to greet you?” Brienne tipped her head back and laughed loudly. “Clearly its your modesty.”</p><p>The pair lay together talking for some time before the maester returned with Queen Daenerys. At the sight of Brienne awake, Daenerys rushed to the bed and pulled Brienne into a firm hug. “Sister! Savior of the living. You’re awake!” From Brienne’s side, Jaime spoke up. “Yes, she helped my efforts a little.” Daenerys scoffed at Jaime and waved him off like a fly circling he food. Brienne rolled her eyes at Jaime and turned back to Daenerys. “If I can endure him, I can survive death itself.”  </p><p>Daenerys snorted and sat upright while holding Brienne’s right arm. “We’ve sent missives recalling the citizens to the capital. We have teams of men working the remove the wildfire caches from below the city. The alchemist has provided instructions for care of the substance to ensure its safe destruction. We’ll have a funeral tonight to honor the dead. I want you to rest so please don’t push yourself to attend.”</p><p>Jaime groaned inwardly knowing his stubborn wife would insist on attending. Of course, that meant he would be hefting her up and down the castle steps, but he would happily do so if for no other reason than she was alive. The spoke some more before Daenerys made her goodbyes and bid them rest until the funeral.</p><p>As the bells rang out a few hours later to indicate the gathering for the funeral, Jaime and Brienne sat up and began to ready themselves. Looking over his shoulder, Jaime watched as Brienne realized that her boot was destroyed from the spear and she looked to her heavily bound foot which was likely to have objected regardless.</p><p>With a teasing smile, Jaime looked to Brienne. “Well I suppose I’ll be playing the role of your horse this evening.” Jaime moved around the bed as Brienne huffed in irritation and swatted him away. Jaime laughed at her annoyance and moved to a crouched position between her legs which hung over the side of the bed. “Come along. Hop on.”</p><p>Brienne spoke indignantly. “I will do no such thing!” Jaime laughed harder and cast a glance over his shoulder, his brows raised suggestively. “Come on. I’m strong enough.” The words from what felt a lifetime ago hit her and she broke into laughter. “I suppose I have known a man and a horse then.” <em>Wow. Walked right into that one.</em></p><p>“A jape Brienne? I’m impressed. Now climb up. Don’t make me fling you over my shoulder and make a true scene about this.” With a resigned sigh, Brienne slide forward and flung her arms around Jaime. She had attempted to walk once earlier that afternoon and knew it was a lost cause.</p><p>The pair made their way down the stairs trying to muffle their laughter. It felt wrong to be having fun at such a time, but Jaime was so relieved that he couldn’t help the giddiness. As they lined up with the other soldiers, Jaime held Brienne upright with his right arm around her waist. Brienne kept her left arm around his shoulder for balance as she held her bandaged foot just off the ground.</p><p>Daenerys gave a moving speech and informed the crowd that a celebration of life would be held in the capital a week from the day. Jaime felt a wave of excitement at the thought of seeing his babes arrive from Tarth. Daenerys had mentioned earlier that Tarth had been sent word and he hoped Sansa would bring the twins along.</p><p>As the ceremony concluded, Tyrion found them in the crowd as Jaime was hoisting Brienne onto his back again. “Ah brother. Goodsister. Thank the Gods you both made it. Mind if I walk with you.”</p><p>Jaime turned to catch Brienne’s eye as her head hovered just over his shoulder; a smirk spreading across his face. “Why not. Then if I get tired, you can carry her.” Brienne huffed in annoyance and swatted at Jaime’s head with her left hand. “Apologies. I thought I was falling. Had to grab the first useless thing I could find.”</p><p>Tyrion chuckled at them as they began to walk. “Well I’m glad to see your banter has survived this war. I would hate to think near death turned you into nothing but saps.” The trio made their way back up the castle stairs and Jaime kept needling Brienne the entire way.</p><p>“You got to lead me around on a rope once. I get to carry you around on my back. This hardly seems a fair trade.” The two spat back and forth until they reached the room and Jaime pretended to pass out on the floor from exhaustion once he deposited her on the bed.</p><p>Tyrion updated them on the state of the injured and the details of the missives sent to Tarth and the other houses. Eventually when he bade them farewell for the night, Jaime climbed into bed with Brienne and tugged her close; enjoying the feel of her chest rising and falling against his. “Please don’t ever fight death again without me there.”</p><p>Over the next week, citizens began the slow journey back to the city. The ship from Tarth carrying refugees seeking a return North came first to King’s Landing for the celebration. Jaime stood at the window eagerly watching the contingent from Tarth make their way towards the castle. <em>My babes are here!</em></p><p>As Jaime paced around the room with a chaotic energy, Brienne sat calmly on the bed awaiting her little ones. When eventually a knock came at the door, Jaime pounced at it like a lion catching its prey.  Pulling back the door, Sansa and one of the wet-nurses stood with the babes in arms and smiling. Jaime grabbed little Sel and pulled him close. He reached his good hand towards little Cat and stroked her head.</p><p>Sansa walked the baby girl to Brienne who was in near tears at the sight of her little ones. As Jaime and Brienne sat together on the bed, smiling and fussing over their babies, Sansa took a seat and waved off the wet-nurse; bidding her return for the twins next feeding in an hour.</p><p>Jaime looked to Sansa with tears in his eyes. “Thank you, Sansa! We owe you for watching these little ones and caring for Tarth.” The young woman smiled and huffed a laugh. “I rather think we all owe you our lives. I’ve heard the details of the battle from Tyrion the entire way from the harbor.”</p><p>Jaime, Brienne, and Sansa spent time catching up on Tarth, the babes, and the final battle with the dead. At various points, the wet-nurses came in for the babes and then put them down to nap. Jaime was amazed at how much they had grown in the time he had been away from them.</p><p>Soon it was time to make their way down to courtyard where Daenerys would welcome everyone and open the doors to the castle for the feast. Brienne still struggled to walk but was able to slowly make her way down the steps. Sansa carried little Cat while Jaime carried little Sel. Jaime smiled warmly at his wife who was doing her best to look dignified and unaffected by her injuries. <em>Stubborn woman</em>.</p><p>Exiting the castle, Daenerys pulled them aside and asked them to stand to the right among several of their key military commanders and the recovering group from the Dragon Pit. Daenerys moved to the top of the steps with the castle behind her. In the skies above, Jaime heard the cries of Drogon and Viserion. Drogon had been greatly wounded in battle but was beginning to recover and had begun taking flight with his brother the day prior.</p><p>As the crowd quieted at Daenerys’ approach, Jaime watched as queen smiled fondly at her people. “Westeros. We have mourned together and now we will celebrate life together. Our brave men and women have defeated the army of the dead. They have brought a new dawn to Westeros and together we will rebuild. Much of the North will need aid in restoring its homes. Many children are without parents. Many are grieving the loss of loved ones. We will all need to support one another. Today we celebrate though. I want to thank our military leaders and all the soldiers who represent all of our Seven Kingdoms. Without their aid, we would not have survived.”</p><p>Daenerys cast a small smirk at Jaime before turning back to the crowd. “And to Ser Jaime, your Warden of the West, who delivered the battle plans that won this fight.” At her words, the contingent from the West, the North, and Tarth let out a raucous cheer. Jaime chuckled inwardly. I suppose the North has grown to find me tolerable much like their leader.</p><p>Daenerys then pointed to their group amassed to the right. “To our human bait, Lord Bran, and his protectors. We lost some of our finest in the process; Grey Worm, Tormund Giantsbane, Ser Bryn of Tarth, Ser Brandon from the North, and Jon Snow… Aegon Targaryen. My nephew. Your friend and leader.”</p><p>Daenerys took a steadying breath and continued. “Ser Addam Marbrand, Ser Endrew of Tarth, Ser Bronn of the Blackwater, and Ser Lyle from the North. These men nearly died guarding Bran and our hope for life as well. I thank you and all the men who fought so bravely in battle.”</p><p>Then Daenerys looked to Brienne and Jaime noticed the glint in the queen’s eyes. “And to my sister. Lady Brienne Lannister of Tarth. Daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth and Queen Rhaella Targaryen.” At the mention of Brienne, the entire crowd erupted in excitement and cheers. Jaime felt his chest swell with pride. Looking to his wife, he watched her face flush and she tried to shrink back a bit, but Jaime held her forward.</p><p>Daenerys smiled widely and teased the crowd. “Oh, so you’ve heard of her? As Ser Jaime has enjoyed saying all week to anyone in earshot, she single-handedly defeated death itself.” Jaime couldn’t control the laugh that escaped his lips as Brienne groaned at the words; covering her face with her hand.</p><p>Daenerys waited for the laughter from the crowd to taper off before continuing. “I do find it odd however that despite risking her own life to save others, despite saving us all from death and defeating the Night King himself, she has somehow been deprived of a proper title.” Daenerys looked to Ser Jaime and nodded. He handed little Sel to Ser Addam and winked to Brienne as he walked to Daenerys.</p><p>“Sister. I think you’ve more than earned your knighthood. Please come forward.” Jaime turned to see his wife’s face a deep shade of red and a panicked expression on her face. Sansa nudged Brienne along and Jaime tiled his head; imploring her to come forward. Brienne limped along the stage and Jaime whispered. “I recommend kneeling with the right leg supporting you. I need that sword by the way. Oathkeeper feels more appropriate than Widow’s Wail right now.”</p><p>Brienne looked to Daenerys who was beaming at her before looking back to Jaime who extended his hand to grab Oathkeeper from her swordbelt. Helping her down to one knee. Jaime wiped the mirth from his eyes and looked down in awe at his wife.</p><p>“In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave," Jaime touched Oathkeeper to her shoulder. "In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the mother, I charge you to defend the innocent. Arise, Brienne Lannister of Tarth, a knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”</p><p>Brienne stood slowly and her eyes locked on Jaime. Distantly, he heard the cheer of the crowds around them, but all he saw was her. Everything else faded away and he was overwhelmed by the love for the woman before him. It wasn’t until he heard his little brother’s booming voice that he came back to his surroundings. “To Ser Brienne Lannister of Tarth!”</p><p>Brienne looked out and saw the hordes of living from all houses cheering for her. The sight seeming to overwhelm her. With a nod and thanks to Daenerys, she looked back to Jaime. He returned her sword and took her by the arm to walk her back to their spots. Daenerys concluded her speech, but Jaime couldn’t stop staring at Brienne. He leaned in and placed a kiss to her cheek. “I love you Brienne. Your father would be so proud of you right now as I am.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>One of the only good parts from season 8 was Brienne getting knighted. How could I not...</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you haven't read the first two parts and don't want to go back to read them, here is a summary:<br/>In part 1, Brienne lost a hand while a captive of Ramsay. Jaime rescued her; effectively abandoning Cersei. The pair leave for the Rock and Jaime aims to help Brienne recover from her trauma. In part 2, Daenerys arrives in Westeros. Jon finds out from Sam that he can mine dragon glass at Dragonstone to fight the dead, but to do so Daenerys wants his support in her quest for the crown. Selwyn and a pregnant Brienne are captured by Cersei. After Cersei is defeated by the united forces of the North, West, Stormlands, and Daenerys forces, it is revealed that Brienne is actually the child of Selwyn and Rhaella. Jon is actually Aegon as in the show.  Brienne births twins - a boy and girl (Selwyn and Catelyn).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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